Patriots Rumors: Top Coach Prospect Sounds Off on ‘Hurtful’ Report

Getty Bill Belichick and Jerod Mayo (left), long the subject of Patriots rumors,

Not all that many rumors are allowed to trickle out of Patriots Place, but one of the ill-kept secrets in the last couple of years has been the status of linebackers coach Jerod Mayo, who has been dubbed the likely successor to coach Bill Belichick whenever he and the Patriots part ways.

With one week left in what has been a miserable season, that could come soon.

But there was cold water splashed on the sure-shot candidacy of Mayo for the Patriots job last month when it was reported by the Boston Sports Journal that the contract extension given to Mayo last January seemed to go to his head.

“Mayo has rubbed at least some people the wrong way in the building since his extension and when he, perhaps, received a strong indication he would be the successor (the idea was more for 2025 or ’26),” BSJ’s Greg Bedard wrote.

Mayo was suspicious about how and why that report came out when it did, just as the future of Belichick with the organization was especially cloudy.

“It was more hurtful than anything,” Mayo said this week, per the Associated Press. “I found it to be, well, the timing is a little bit weird in my opinion. If that was the case, I feel like this would have been leaked sometime earlier.”

Patriots Rumors on Jerod Mayo on the Rise

The report from Bedard came after ESPN had reported on rumors over owner Robert Kraft’s plan of succession. According to insider Dan Graziano, that plan would have Mayo taking over … after next season.

“The defense’s performance could end up strengthening the case of linebackers coach and de facto defensive coordinator Jerod Mayo as the presumed successor to Bill Belichick, though. Sources close to the Patriots believe Kraft’s plan entering this season was for Belichick to coach two more seasons and have Mayo take over in 2025,” Graziano wrote.

But Graziano also wrote that Mayo was “no longer certain” to take over for Belichick. Was that because Mayo had rubbed some the wrong way? And, as Mayo wondered, was rubbing people the wrong way such a bad thing?

“Sometimes that’s part of the job of being a leader, is to rub people the wrong way,” Mayo said. “I always try to be constructive and respectful in my feedback and some people appreciate that transparency and some don’t. But at the end of the day, if we can’t rub people the wrong way, how do you expect to be the best you can be?”

Bill Belichick Mum on Future

As could be expected, Belichick himself is not saying much about his future, or about the rumors that Mayo will be taking over his job. Asked specifically about Mayo, Belichick was intentionally vague.

“I think all of our defensive coaches have done a really good job,” Belichick said on Boston radio station WEEI on January 2. “Collectively, they work together. It’s hard to single everybody out because they work so well together as a total group. They — overall, the players, the coaches — have had a good chemistry and have battled through some tough situations with a great mindset. I think all of those coaches deserve their share of the credit on that.”