Patriots reportedly fire head coach Jerod Mayo after 1 season

Patriots

Jerod Mayo’s lone season as Patriots head coach saw the team go 4-13.

By Conor Ryan

January 5, 2025 | 5:25 PM

4 minutes to read

Jerod Mayo’s time as Patriots head coach has ended after only one season.

The Patriots announced that they fired the first-year head coach a little over an hour after the 2024 season came to a close with a 23-16 win over the Bills. The win improved New England’s record to 4-13, but also saw the Patriots fall from the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to No. 4 overall. 

Here is Robert Kraft’s full statement on the decision to fire Mayo.

“After the game today, I informed Jerod Mayo that he will not be returning as the head coach of the New England Patriots in 2025.

“For me, personally, this was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made. I have known Jerod for 17 years. He earned my respect and admiration as a rookie in 2008 and throughout his career for his play on the field, his leadership in the locker room and the way he conducted himself in our community. When he joined our coaching staff, his leadership was even more evident, as I saw how the players responded to him. When other teams started requesting to interview him, I feared I would lose him and committed to making him our next head coach. Winning our season-opener on the road at Cincinnati only strengthened my convictions.

“Unfortunately, the trajectory of our team’s performances throughout the season did not ascend as I had hoped. Since buying the team, I have always considered myself and my family as custodians of a public asset. We have tremendous fans who expect and deserve a better product than we have delivered in recent years. I apologize for that. I have given much thought and consideration as to what actions I can take to expedite our return to championship contention and determined this move was the best option at this time.”

According to Ben Volin of The Boston Globe, Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt was also been fired on Sunday. While more coaching changes are to be expected, Chad Graff of The Athletic added that de-facto GM Eliot Wolf is not expected to be fired.

While few expected the 2024 Patriots to be a competitive group, Mayo quickly found himself on the hot seat after just one year on the job.

Even with the dearth of talent on New England’s roster (an indictment on Wolf), the Patriots’ severe regression on defense, fumbles in critical stages of games, and Mayo’s multiple gaffes while speaking with the media put a spotlight on the 38-year-old coach and his ability to lead the team moving forward. 

Before New England hindered its rebuilding efforts by falling out of that No. 1 spot on Sunday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter expressed doubt that Mayo would return for the 2025 NFL season.

“Now, all along the Kraft family has wanted to stand by him and give him support,” Schefter said on ESPN’s “NFL Countdown.” “He was the hand-chosen successor to Bill Belichick. 

“But over the last 30 days or so, the team has struggled, they’ve lost at home, fans have been angered, they’ve been apathetic and it feels like within the organization, there’s been a shift. There’s nervous people inside the building right now, and we are going to go leaning out right now for Jerod Mayo.” 

While Mayo has routinely put himself in a bad spot at the podium, he opted to take a page out of Belichick’s playbook by deflecting most questions about his future in New England during Sunday’s postgame presser — shortly before his firing.

“Look, today is all about the game. We’ll have enough time here tomorrow and the next couple of days to address all the other things,” Mayo said. “At some point in time here, I’ll have my normal meeting with the Krafts, and we’ll see where it goes from there.” 

Mayo didn’t budge when asked a follow-up question about whether or not he expects to be back in 2025. 

“For me, it’s all about just this game, to go back to the start,” Mayo said. “It’s all about this game, and we’ll talk about that tomorrow.”

It didn’t take very long for Kraft and Co. to make a ruling on Mayo, as he was fired shortly after leaving the podium at Gillette Stadium.

As has been the case all year when Mayo has caught flak, his players defended him following Sunday’s victory. 

“We’re always going to have Mayo’s back,” linebacker Christian Elliss said postgame. “[I] was just happy as a defense, we went out there and played hard. Mayo is an amazing coach. Mayo played in this league for a long time at a high level. He knows what it takes to win. So for him and for ourselves and for our families, we just went out there and played hard today.” 

However, Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald reported, via sources, “a poor culture with a lack of leadership that can make demanding and decisive decisions” this season.

With Robert Kraft and the Patriots moving on from Mayo, the team will likely turn to other coaching candidates, like Mike Vrabel and Ben Johnson.

ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported that Vrabel — who won three Super Bowls with the Patriots as a player and won NFL Coach of the Year in 2021 — is expected to interview for New England’s head-coaching vacancy.