It was this past April that the New England Patriots promoted assistant coach Jerod Mayo to a more prominent role within the organization.
This seemed to be the clearest indication yet that New England was grooming Mayo to be Bill Belichick’s eventual replacement.
This little-known move could now have wide-ranging ramifications after the Patriots and Belichick opted to part ways on Thursday. It enables the Patriots to simply promote Mayo without having to follow the guidelines of the NFL’s Rooney Rule.
It is also leading to widespread reports that Mayo will soon be named the Patriots’ next head coach.
“Jerod Mayo is a strong candidate to replace Bill Belichick & if he is the choice, the #Patriots could simply hire him. No need to go through the lengthy hiring process — they established a firm, contractual succession plan in a prior contract & communicated it to the NFL.”
NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport on Mayo potentially becoming next Patriots head coach
While the Las Vegas Raiders still have to follow the letter of the Rooney Rule, New England is not in the same situation due to the promotion it handed him last April. According to Rapoport, there was no succession plan for Pierce to take over for the recently-fired Josh McDaniels. Hence, the difference.
The Rooney Rule required teams to interview minority candidates for head coach and front office positions before making a hire official.
Related: Jerod Mayo and the top Patriots head coach candidates
Jerod Mayo likely to become next New England Patriots head coach
Patriots insider Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston reported earlier on Thursday that every indication points to Mayo as the next head coach in New England.
Meanwhile, sportsbooks are pulling odds about who the next Patriots head coach will be after huge action in Mayo’s favor.
This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. Mayo, 37, played in New England for Belichick from 2008-15. He then joined the staff as linebackers coach ahead of the 2019 season. Since, Mayo has acted as a quasi defensive coordinator for the Patriots.
As for Belichick, he has not had anything but great things to say about the assistant coach.
“There have been very few players in my career that I’ve had the opportunity to coach that I’d say had more of an impact on a team than Jerod has from day one, which is unusual. From the first day he walked in the facility, which was his pre-draft visit, after we drafted him in 2008, he’s been a pleasure to coach, a great addition to our team, both on and off the field.”
Former Patriots coach Bill Belichick on Jerod Mayo following the linebacker’s retirement
Former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel is also seen as a candidate to replace Belichick. But it’s now looking more and more like it will be Mayo who is given the keys to the kingdom.