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Part of the New England Patriots coaching staff.
The play of the New England Patriots defense, one of the team’s few bright spots in 2022, could help land a member of their coaching staff a head coaching job.
That is the ultimate goal of inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo, he said.
“That’s never changed,” Mayo told reporters during his December 27 press conference. “I think I’m ready to be a head coach in the league.”
Mayo, who played for the Patriots from 2008 to 2015, is “bursting at the seams to spread his wings,” according to NBC Sports Boston’s Tom E. Curran, and could be a candidate to leave in the offseason for another opportunity.
Is Mayo a Candidate in Denver?
The Denver Broncos fired Nathaniel Hackett on December 26, opening speculation about who will get the job in the offseason. Mayo interviewed for Denver’s coaching position last offseason, so there is already an established relationship between the two sides.
Broncos GM George Paton talked highly of Mayo after his interview with Denver.
“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.”
Where Do the Patriots Stand Heading Into Week 17?
For now, Mayo still has at least two weeks to go in New England, which, at 7-8, still has some playoff hopes.
“But I have to say this too, right my focus is being here with the Patriots,” he said.
After yet another disappointing loss, the Patriots fell in Bleacher Report’s Power Rankings heading into Week 17. New England dropped from 18th to 20th overall.
“At 7-8, the New England Patriots are more likely than not going to miss the postseason in 2022. There is more than one reason for that,” B/R wrote in December 27 story. “But the biggest is likely the team’s offensive struggles.
It’s not just the play-calling and scheme,” Bleacher Report added. “Kendrick Bourne, who was New England’s most effective receiver against the Bengals, has barely played this season. Time and again, the Patriots appear reluctant to let Mac Jones challenge defenses vertically. And whether it was Rhamondre Stevenson’s game-sealing fumble against the Bengals or the disastrous lateral the week before, the Patriots have committed costly mistakes at the worst possible time.”
New England’s defense wasn’t the problem with Matthew Judon earning a trip to the Pro Bowl and Josh Uche continuing to find ways to get into the backfield.
“As has annually been the case under Belichick, the Patriots are an excellent defensive team,” B/R wrote. “But until New England takes major steps to upgrade the offense, the team will be mired in the morass of mediocrity it currently finds itself in.”
While Belichick also deserves credit, the same can be said of Mayo. The work he has done with the Patriots defense should also help him as he looks for a head coaching job.
Still, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer wrote that New England might actually be hurting Mayo’s chances of becoming a head coach.
“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.”
Sam Minton covered the New England Patriots for Heavy.com from 2022 to 2023. A Massachusetts native, he has covered New England sports since 2016, with work featured at SB Nation, Sports Illustrated, FanSided and The Blazing Musket. More about Sam Minton
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