Patriots make rare announcement of plans: Keeping Jerod Mayo and interviewing offensive coordinator candidates
BOSTON -- Throughout Bill Belichick's tenure, the New England Patriots have generally gone about their business as quietly as possible. The less the public knew about various ongoing processes, the better it seemed to be for Bill Belichick and the front office.
So it was a rather stark change of course on Thursday when the Patriots volunteered two separate plans in a press release.
First, the Patriots announced that they will be trying to sign linebackers coach Jerod Mayo to a contract extension. Second, the team announced that it will be interviewing offensive coordinator candidates next week.
"The New England Patriots and Head Coach Bill Belichick have begun contract extension discussions with Jerod Mayo that would keep him with the team long-term," the statement read. "In addition, the team will begin interviewing for offensive coordinator candidates beginning next week."
Interestingly, the headline on the press release said, "PATRIOTS TO EXTEND JEROD MAYO," which indicates a certain level of confidence in keeping Mayo in Foxboro.
Mayo just completed his fourth season on the Patriots' coaching staff, having worked as the inside linebackers coach from 2019-21 and as a linebackers coach in 2022. He's been involved with Steve Belichick in a co-defensive coordinator type of setup, though Steve Belichick has seemingly been the defensive play-caller.
Mayo went on three interviews as a head coaching candidate in recent years, and the Carolina Panthers requested him for an interview for their head coaching position on Thursday. Earlier in the week, Cleveland requested an interview with Mayo for its defensive coordinator position.
Clearly, Mayo is a highly regarded coach around the NFL, given his playing and coaching background. And with his contract reportedly set to expire, it appears as though Robert Kraft is intent on not losing Mayo to another franchise.
What that entails in terms of job responsibilities and long-term career outlook is not entirely known, but with Mayo's future clearly pointing toward becoming a head coach, the forthcoming offers would seemingly be made with that goal in mind.
As for the plans for offensive coordinator interviews, it confirms a Wednesday report that said changes are coming on the offensive side of the ball. Bill Belichick employed Matt Patricia and Joe Judge in key offensive coaching positions in 2022, and the Patriots' offense struggled for the duration of the season from training camp through Week 18. Change was seemingly a necessary part of this new offseason, though Belichick opted to not make any sweeping judgments or binding statements when speaking to the media on Monday. This news now confirms that the Patriots will be looking to make an addition on the coaching staff to lead the offense.
