(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
The New England Patriots had some people guessing, but in the end, they did what most analysts predicted they would do.
They hired Jerod Mayo to be Bill Belichick’s successor.
There was plenty of speculation regarding Mike Vrabel being a potential candidate now that he had been shockingly fired by the Tennessee Titans.
Vrabel also knew the Patriots way inside out, and he was a proven coach.
Nonetheless, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reports that Mayo actually had a ‘succession clause’ in his contract that stated that he was going to take the reins of the team as soon as Bill Belichick left, so all that outside noise was nothing but that: outside noise:
“This was always the choice,” Rapoport said. “He turned down several coaching interviews just to stay because this was the plan.”
The #Patriots will now work to hire a new GM to work with Jerod Mayo, as the organization gets a total facelift. https://t.co/lhBboLinAz
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 12, 2024
Rapoport claimed that Robert Kraft never had an ounce of doubt about Mayo being Belichick’s successor, and this was clearly the plan all along.
The insider claims that the next step for the Patriots will be to work closely with Mayo to hire a new GM, so he obviously won’t have as much responsibility on his plate as Belichick did, which is perfectly normal.
It’s crazy to think that the Patriots wanted a fresh start and a turnaround and they still went with Belichick’s successor, a guy who has similar ways, similar style, and a similar approach.
Then again, it’s not like Belichick didn’t lead this team to success more often than not.
Now, it’ll be Mayo’s chance to prove they made the right decision by not even considering Vrabel.
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