Patriots Country

Patriots Legend Not in Favor of Jerod Mayo Firing

A New England Patriots wasn't terribly happy with the team for firing Jerod Mayo.

Evan Massey

Dec 15, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium.
Dec 15, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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The 2024 NFL season was a painful one for the New England Patriots. Under first-year head coach Jerod Mayo, things simply didn't click.

Each and every week, the team seemed disconnected and unprepared. That grew very frustrating for fans to watch.

By the end of the year, the chants of "Fire Mayo" rang out during home games. To the excitement of the fans, the Patriots opted to fire Mayo immediately following the season finale. It was a move that drew mixed reactions.

Some thought that the move was a good one and others thought it was unfair.

Vince Wilfork, a loved New England legend, spoke out with his thoughts on the move recently. He did not agree with how it was handled.

“It was very unfortunate for Jerod because I think it was an unfair deal for him,” Wilfork said on 98.5 The Sports Hub. “It’s a lose-lose situation for him because he’s coming in as a new coach trying to replace the greatest coach of all time with a crappy roster that he inherited from Bill Belichick. … At least give him three years to figure out, go get draft picks and figure out and see if you could turn it around.”

Those thoughts are understandable. It's hard to truly blame a coach after just one season. However, the Patriots wanted to go in a different direction and that is their right.

Bringing in Mike Vrabel is an unquestioned upgrade. He has a proven track record of success as an NFL head coach.

Moving into the future, New England simply wanted to do its best to succeed. Clearly, Robert Kraft and company did not think that Mayo could offer them that. Vrabel, on the other hand, they trust to win.

Only time will tell whether this was a good move or not. If Vrabel ends up struggling in a similar way, the Patriots will be in the wrong. On the other hand, if Vrabel succeeds, Kraft will be proven correct.

Now, the pressure is on Vrabel to deliver and build New England back into a contender.

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Evan Massey
EVAN MASSEY

Evan Massey is a sports reporter and analyst who covers college football, the NFL and NBA. He has contributed to the On SI network since July 2021. He has also written for ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, Forbes, Bleacher Report, NFLAnalysis.net, NBAAnalysis.net and many other publications. In his free time, Evan enjoys spending time with his wife and son.

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