Jerod Mayo was fired as coach of the Patriots shortly after beating the Bills to finish his only season at 4-13.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots fired coach Jerod Mayo Sunday after one season, beginning a new reboot for the franchise just one year after parting ways with longtime coach Bill Belichick.

Owner Robert Kraft announced the firing in a statement shortly after New England closed its 4-13 season with a 23-16 victory over the Buffalo Bills.

“After the game, I informed Jerod Mayo that he would not return as head coach of the New England Patriots in 2025. For me personally, this was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made. taken,” Kraft said. “Unfortunately, the trajectory of our team’s performance throughout the season has not progressed as I had hoped.”

Kraft was expected to discuss the decision at a news conference Monday.

A former Patriots linebacker who worked as an assistant under Belichick, Mayo began the season with strong support from Kraft. But alongside a coaching staff that included offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt and first-time defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington, he struggled to get the most out of a young team that included rookie quarterback Drake Maye.

The Patriots opened the season with a win at Cincinnati before losing their next six games. They won two of their next three games, but then closed the season losing six of seven, missing the playoffs for the third straight season. Belichick was 4-13 in his final season in 2023 to cap a 24-year streak in New England that included six Super Bowl titles.

Mayo played eight seasons with New England and won a Super Bowl during the 2014 season. After retiring, he took a job with corporate America in 2015, then returned to football in 2019 to work with Belichick . He primarily served as the Patriots’ linebackers coach while developing a strong reputation among the players.

This made him a rising star in the coaching ranks and he turned down several interviews for head coaching positions following the 2022 season, instead signing an extension to remain in New England.

A week after letting Belichick go, the Patriots hired Mayo as the franchise’s first black head coach. At 37, he entered the season as the second-youngest coach in the NFL behind Seattle’s Mike Macdonald.

From the start of his tenure, Mayo attempted to establish a culture different from Belichick’s often robotic dedication to football — a move that drew praise from players.

Yet that didn’t translate into wins for a team that was ranked last in the NFL offensively and defensively and went 3-6 in single-score games.

Kraft could turn to another former Patriots linebacker, Mike Vrabel, the former Tennessee Titans coach who recently interviewed with the New York Jets for their coaching vacancy. Vrabel played a central role in the Patriots’ first three Super Bowl titles in his eight seasons, and he led the Titans to three playoff appearances in six years before being fired after the 2023 season.

After Sunday’s victory and before Mayo’s dismissal was announced, players praised the work he has done this season.

“He stayed consistent,” cornerback Jonathan Jones said. “The guys’ effort today showed how, no matter the situation, how he can get guys to go out there and fight.”

Veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett said coming together under a new coaching staff was a challenge for everyone.

“First year for head coach, offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, (general manager). People don’t understand all of this,” Brissett said. “But good things take time. It’s not like Rome was built in a day. …The word people don’t want to use is patience. You have to be patient with this thing.

Yet Kraft did not show patience with his hand-picked coach.

Kraft first noticed Mayo’s confidence shortly after the Patriots drafted him 10th overall out of Tennessee in 2008.

“I remember he immediately came up to me and said, ‘Kraft and Mayo, they look pretty good together,'” Kraft said at Mayo’s introductory press conference last January . “Sixteen years later, here we are. »

When Mayo first returned to the Patriots in 2019, Kraft noted he saw an even more capable leader who hadn’t lost his ability to interact with players.

That same year, Mayo accompanied Kraft on a trip to Israel and the men became close. Kraft then made an internal prediction.

“Watching him in Israel, I knew he was the right person to be the next head coach of the New England Patriots,” Kraft said. “I had the same belief when I hired Bill Belichick, a decision that many questioned at the time and told me I was making a major mistake.”

But those instincts didn’t pay off, and Kraft, 83, will now start the process again to find a coach who can get the franchise back on track.