2023 Patriots Clueless About Belichick Departure: 'Didn't See It Coming!'
Bill Belichick's departure from the New England Patriots may have been rumored for months, but it still came as a shock when it actually happened on Jan. 11.
After turning the Patriots into the NFL's greatest dynasty, winning six Super Bowls between 2001-18, Belichick appeared to have near-infinite job security. However, the team drastically declined after quarterback Tom Brady left in 2020, culminating in an abysmal 4-13 finish this season. As such, the team made the decision to go in a new direction and hire Jerod Mayo as Belichick's successor.
It wasn't just the fans who watched the Belichick news with baited breath. According to linebacker Mack Wilson, Patriots players were also in the dark as to their coach's future.
New York Jets quarterback Trevor Siemian (14) is sacked by New England Patriots linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. (3) in the first quarter at Gillette Stadium.
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“Honestly, we didn’t know as players," Wilson told A to Z Sports. "I feel like we was just taking it one day at a time, trying to put our best foot forward. And we honestly didn’t know if Bill was gonna be the head coach, if they was gonna move on from Bill, if Mayo was gonna get the head coach - we didn’t know nothing.
"Obviously until we heard that RKK [Patriots owner Robert Kraft] and Bill was gonna have the little thing together and whatnot and to discuss the future. I didn’t even get that feeling. We definitely didn’t see it coming like that for real. Honestly, we didn’t think it was gonna happen."
Just as the news of Belichick's departure came as a shock to Wilson, so did the news of Mayo's hiring, but in a different way. After the initial shock wore off, Wilson and his co-linebackers were thrilled to see Mayo get the job he deserved.
"I texted my linebacker group in a group chat and we was just like really happy. We was pumped, we was excited, obviously for our position coach most importantly," Wilson said. "We kind of felt that it was time, at least we kind of felt that he was going to get another job, whether it was a defensive coordinator job elsewhere or head coaching job."
It remains to be seen if Wilson, a pending free agent, stays in New England for the start of the Mayo era, but regardless of where he ends up, he'll be cheering on his former position coach every step of the way.
