On Jan. 5, the New England Patriots fired their head coach, Jerod Mayo, just a few hours after their Week 18 victory over the Buffalo Bills.
Many Patriots fans were eager to replace Mayo after the team finished with only four wins and a disappointing 13 losses this season. Although it’s understandable for fans to be upset after such a poor season, Jerod Mayo should never have been fired. While some fans and media may try to make Mayo the scapegoat for this season, he is not the one to blame. After all, if you look at the Patriots’ current roster, it was arguably one of the worst in the National Football League (NFL).
Other than Drake Maye, the Patriots’ quarterback, there are few offensive players to be excited about. The Patriots’ had the second worst defense in the league this year. This isn’t surprising when you consider that all Patriot receivers combined for fewer yards than Ja’Marr Chase, a wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals. On the other side of the ball, the Patriots dropped from the seventh best defense in 2023 to 22nd in 2024. Although some might blame poor coaching, the real problem lies in the lack of talented players on the Patriots roster.
During the offseason, the Patriots traded away arguably their best defensive player Matthew Judon for a third-round round pick in the upcoming 2025 draft. From that moment it was clear the season was headed downhill. The roster, already weak, became even worse, and there were no attempts to bring in any star players. This of course, was not Jerod Mayo’s fault, but Eliot Wolf’s, whose responsibility is to manage the roster as the executive vice president of player personnel.
Although we won’t deny that Mayo made some mistakes this year, we think it’s important to stress that much of this was due to his inexperience as a first-time coach. These errors could have been valuable learning opportunities and easily avoided in the future. Unfortunately, Mayo was never really given a fair chance due to poor management, a weak roster and a fan base incapable of patience or empathy.
The main issue is that these problems can’t be fixed overnight like many fans expect. Improving the roster could take years and would require strong drafting or the acquisition of talent through trades or free agency, areas where the Patriots have fallen short.
When the next season begins with Mike Vrabel as the head coach, the patriots will remain below average unless they make significant roster improvements. The lack of talent has been the biggest obstacle – not the coaching. To turn things around, the Patriots need to address these deficiencies in the off-season through trades, free agency or the draft. As we saw this year, if the players on the field aren’t good enough, there’s only so much a coach can do.
Mayo’s unfair firing will tarnish his legacy and may spell the end of his coaching career. It’s unfortunate that a man who spent his entire career with the Patriots, won a Superbowl, earned two Pro Bowl nods and was named All-Pro, will forever be remembered as “that bad coach.”
