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The New England Patriots might have to deal with more coaching departures this offseason.
After the firing of Nathaniel Hackett, the Denver Broncos will need a new head coach for 2023 and it won’t be surprising if they look to try and poach a coach from New England’s sideline.
“With news of the Denver Broncos firing their head coach, Nathaniel Hackett, one logical choice to replace him would be Jerod Mayo,” longtime Patriots reporter Karen Guregian.
According to NBC Sports Boston’s Tom E. Curran, Jerod Mayo is “bursting at the seams to spread his wings.” With Mayo having interviewed for Denver’s coaching position this past offseason, the Broncos seem likely to reach out to Mayo once again.
Denver’s GM George Paton was also quite impressed with Mayo’s interview.
“One hundred percent. He’ll be a head coach,” Paton told the Boston Herald. “He has a dynamic personality, really bright, really smart, knows what he wants. I think he’s only coached three years, but he really had an interesting, unique perspective about how he’d do things. I really enjoyed the visit.”
Paton added that Mayo “lights up a room” and that the Broncos “really enjoyed the interview.”
Have the Patriots Hurt Mayo’s Chances?
While holding duties as a defensive coach, Mayo has yet to receive the title of defensive coordinator. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer believes that this might hurt Mayo’s chances of landing a job with there being a multitude of quality defensive coaches looking for head coaching positions.
“If you look across the league right now, there’s just an enormous backlog of defensive coaches who are qualified and ready (for head coaching jobs),” Breer said. “Dan Quinn waiting for his second shot, Raheem Morris, DeMeco Ryans, Ejiro Evero in Denver. There is this long list of qualified defensive coordinators who are waiting on taking that next step. You’ve got to do things to separate yourself and right now, Jerod Mayo isn’t calling the defense and doesn’t have the title, so he’s sort of fighting upstream against some of these other guys.”
What Do Patriots Fans Think of Mac Jones?
NBC Sports Boston unveiled the findings of their most recent 20 under 25 poll and it’s clear that Patriots fans have soured on Jones. New England’s quarterback dropped from the top spot to sixth overall.
“Based on this year’s voting results, Jones’ standing with fans in New England has dropped quite a bit. He fell all the way to No. 6 in the latest 20 Under 25 ranking with a 79.6 score,” Nick Goss wrote. “He was the third-highest Patriots player on the list behind running back Rhamondre Stevenson and defensive tackle Christian Barmore. Jones’ drop isn’t a shock by any means, though. His 2022 performance has not impressed at all. He has thrown just nine touchdowns with eight interceptions in 12 games played through Week 16. Sure, the offense as a whole has suffered with penalties, injuries, poor play-calling and bad coaching. But there’s no question that instead of taking a jump forward in Year 2, Jones has actually regressed.
“There’s now a real debate over whether Jones is the right quarterback for the franchise going forward,” he added. “That kind of talk would’ve been viewed as crazy at this time in 2021.”