I don't know . . . he wrote "apart". Seems like he wants a break from the team.
Mayo is the New Coach
- Thread starter IdiotKicker
- Start date
One of my old managers used to say that if employees are overly excited about a new boss, it’s probably because they know they will be easy to work for. I’m not suggesting Mayo will be a pushover, but the players don’t want a new guy coming in telling them what to do. Especially post-Belichick.
Positives for Mayo:
- He had a major hand in the only functional unit on the team and the players in that unit want to work for him
- People view his intelligence/curiosity and communication skills as strengths
- He seems like the type of guy who knows what he doesn't know and I hope that translates to hiring practices, especially on the offense and special teams side
- I think he's got enough BB in him, with the ability to better connect with the more modern players
- He came up under BB
- Hasn't been a HC
- Hasn't called defensive plays during a regular season game
- We don't know how he will hire or be involved with the offense
- He came up under BB
Suddenly feels like a total new energy with this organization, simply with this coaching change.
Specifically, what worries me more than the number of analysts is that Richard Miller is in charge of both analytics and finances (apparently his duties include managing the salary cap and player costs, contract research and statistical trends, financial and strategic planning, and assisting the personnel department with draft, free agency and game advance analytics). Those are two separate skill sets and full-time areas of research, even if they are quantitative, and even if ultimately they can roll up to one AGM.THIS speaks volumes to me. We've got ONE PERSON in our org who deals with data. We are WAY behind the times. MIller wears WAY too many hats and can't possibly innovate when he's responsible for the cap, finances and player analytics.
Just a light bit to post here; on Good Morning Football, they had Jason McCourty, a regular on the show speak first and he had all the usual good stuff to say about Mayo. Then, Kyle Brandt said (paraphrasing) that they've gone from a 24 year genius guy but with Ebenezer Scrooge traits to a more ebullient guy, etc., etc. Brandt is always good for funny stuff.
Carroll was far from a "terrible head coach" with NE.
And Grier was a mixed bag.
Thanks. (and soon after, NESN discontinued its Pats beat coverage.....)
I believe he has been calling plays at least part time the last 2 years according to various articles
Edit- also not sure it would matter, many head coaches don't call plays, in fact not sure I would expect Mayo to depending who he puts at DC
I wrote this here in November, 2021:
https://sonsofsamhorn.net/index.php?threads/lets-say-bb-stays-on-until-he-retires-what-does-that-mean-for-the-franchise.34882/page-8#post-4741688
"I think I've told this story before. I had a chance, via a charity auction to spend hours in the stadium with Matthew Slater, and a couple other players. The culmination was a movie night on the field jumbotron, with about 30 friends (including kids). We got to see the entire locker room, including the weight room.
On the wall of the weight room, they have a bunch of "awards" on a wall. Things like highest bench press, etc. But they also had their "offseason player of the year" stuff. That wall and every award could have been renamed the Jerod Mayo Wall of Fame, because the guy seemingly won every offseason conditioning award, and everything else on top of it. One of the players said Bill handpicked those awards himself every year. My only thought when looking at the wall was "Wow, Bill fucking loves Jerod Mayo." When Mayo was brought back to be on the coaching staff, it was the least surprising move he's ever made, IMO.
Mayo will be an NFL head coach before he's 40. Mark it down."
This is the least surprising thing ever. Pats knew they were doing this, which is why it was put into Mayo's contract last season, and got them around the Rooney Rule with this hire. They wanted him locked up, because if he didn't get the job this year, Mayo would be a head coach somewhere else this season. They got their man, now let's see if it works.
Bedard is a troll.
If those sources knew anything, they'd have known that Mayo's last contract included a provision that he would be the next head coach of the Pats. It's literally the only way they could have hired him without interviewing from outside the organization to satisfy the Rooney Rule.
"The Patriots wrote into his contract last January that Mayo would succeed Belichick as the next head coach. Because they communicated with the league that this clause existed, the Patriots were not required to conduct a full coaching search following the Rooney Rule, which typically requires teams to conduct in-person interviews with at least two external minority candidates. Mayo becomes the first Black non-interim head coach for the Patriots."
https://theathletic.com/5198294/2024/01/12/jerod-mayo-hiring-patriots-head-coach/
the argument for “offensive minded HC” is closely tied to the idea that a young QB (which the Pats badly need) benefits from stability on offense. If the Pats get a great OC who works well with their 3rd overall pick QB and then that OC leaves the next year, it creates problems for the young QB. Whereas if your HC is the brains behind the offense, you can keep coach and QB together for as long as those guys are succeeding.
Other than Bill, who was not really hired to be a “front office person”, who has Kraft hired that indicates he’s “done well”? Bobby Grier?
A lot of the staffing budget will open up if Bill takes another job. He was reportedly making $20m a year. The NFL average for head coaches is ~$6.5m. Mayo has some leverage as the named successor, but is also a first time head coach. Let's say he makes about what Saleh and LaFleur make - $5m. So that's $15m in savings minus whatever remains after Bill's offset.
They should plow that savings back into front office staff, including analytics , as well as quality control staff. (Yesterday, Breer wrote about how there were no QC staff on the offensive side, which was a huge drain on the staff. Seems insane that these positions went unfilled.)
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What GM has a proven track record of hiring coaches that is better than Kraft’s record?
I can imagine Mayo - who is already rich, super confident and ambitious, and was anointed by Kraft within three years or so of joining the staff - would breed some resentment among members of the staff. Too bad. Given how vague Bedard’s report was (he doesn’t explain how he ‘rubbed people the wrong way’), and I said this at the time Bedard dropped it, it’s a chickenshit bit of reporting.
That's not true. Washington's OC from 2010-2013. Mike was the HC at that time.
EDIT: I may have missed some sarcasm here.
I think this sort of thing is meaningful:
View: https://twitter.com/LRiddickESPN/status/1745832695739904471?s=20
View: https://twitter.com/LRiddickESPN/status/1745832695739904471?s=20
Kyle has pretty clearly proven himself to be a good coach on his own. Steve B. should want to do the same, and if he's truly a good coach he'll show it out from under his Dad's shadow. Technically he could do that by staying in NE under Mayo but I think both he and Mayo would be better off with a clean break from the Belichick name in New England. Just my opinion obviously.
Maybe Kraft should sell to an owner who has hired lots of people. Dan Snyder has hired lots of people. And he's available.
<Mark Morrison voice>
So I'm back up in the game
Running things to keep my swing
Letting all the people know
That I'm back to run the show
</Mark Morrison voice>
I totally whiffed on Montgomery. Time to go back to bed.
3 active head coaches same city same initials. Gotta be a record?
Joe Smartglasses is available to complete the quartet.
So we’re basically following the Texans path here - hire a young defensive minded coach with no previous HC experience and hope for a quick turnaround. That worked out pretty well for the Texans.
Of course, the single biggest factor in the Texans’ turnaround was that they nailed their QB pick. Remains to be seen if the Pats can do the same.
Of course, the single biggest factor in the Texans’ turnaround was that they nailed their QB pick. Remains to be seen if the Pats can do the same.
Not to pick on any one of you, but current players have already worked under Mayo and former players will generally applaud a big promotion for a former teammate of theirs. I like the hire, and obviously their support for the move can be rooted in multiple factors, including how good they think he'll be, but I'm not sure there's a whole lot to be taken from their applause.
Bold move that I love! The problem with the team this past season was not, for the most part, the coaching, it was the personnel. So am happy that they valued the continuity; seems like the type that will make players want to through a wall for him.
Lack of prior HC experience can cut either way. I personally am interested to see what a brand new HC can bring. I know posters have raised the topics of the sizes of the staff and the analytics groups under Bill. My guess is that the sizes of the Pats staff were probably typical when Bill was climbing the coaching ranks, and Bill just didn't see the need to add more. Doesn't mean Bill was wrong, but perhaps the reports of Bill becoming more insular had a grain of truth to them, and so am hopeful that Mayo can start putting together a strong staff with a mix of young, innovative coaches and some veteran hands.
And, again, fuck Greg Bedard for publishing that nonsense piece amplifying the grumblings of a petty assistant. Classic example of why Bill never wanted to "play nice" with the media, because they will turn around and burn your ass regardless.
We're on to Secaucus....
Lack of prior HC experience can cut either way. I personally am interested to see what a brand new HC can bring. I know posters have raised the topics of the sizes of the staff and the analytics groups under Bill. My guess is that the sizes of the Pats staff were probably typical when Bill was climbing the coaching ranks, and Bill just didn't see the need to add more. Doesn't mean Bill was wrong, but perhaps the reports of Bill becoming more insular had a grain of truth to them, and so am hopeful that Mayo can start putting together a strong staff with a mix of young, innovative coaches and some veteran hands.
And, again, fuck Greg Bedard for publishing that nonsense piece amplifying the grumblings of a petty assistant. Classic example of why Bill never wanted to "play nice" with the media, because they will turn around and burn your ass regardless.
We're on to Secaucus....
So, agreed, it is a good idea to see the other dominos that fall here. Get a GM. Get an OC.
See big picture.
I still think it’s going to be a tough job for any incoming GM with an owner’s hand-picked coach in place. That’s not completely ideal and I wonder if that will give any potential candidates pause.
ok, so some of the PFF guys were talking about OC options for Chicago and a FASCINATING name came up I never considered......
Kliff Kingsbury. He was a pretty good playcaller, has a long history of QB development... he's a bad HC. Would be interesting as a way to get a guy to pair with your young QB and he's less likely to get poached by another team after 1 year.
Kliff Kingsbury. He was a pretty good playcaller, has a long history of QB development... he's a bad HC. Would be interesting as a way to get a guy to pair with your young QB and he's less likely to get poached by another team after 1 year.
As much I hate even the sight of mayonaisse (on french fries, really France?) I'm excited about this move. The fact that Bob is going with the status quo in the coaching room makes me think that the parting was solely based on the GM responsibilities. I'm glad the Krafts didn't clean house although I think Mayo needs to do so on the offense and special teams coaching groups. Sorry BOB. Looking forward to JM on the sidelines
This is EXACTLY how I manage teams in my business and I have a ton of younger employees. This works.
Boston media already resetting their focus on ownership when this move fails and Bill moves on and has success elsewhere. Then it will be first you let Brady leave, then you let Bill walk...
On the drive in they were already discussing how this move was probably the most financially feasible move to make.. I hope Bob realizes he is setting himself up for a lot of bad press, and this press will be hungry for someone to kick since Bill is no longer around if it goes south! With this roster i dont see good things ahead.
On the drive in they were already discussing how this move was probably the most financially feasible move to make.. I hope Bob realizes he is setting himself up for a lot of bad press, and this press will be hungry for someone to kick since Bill is no longer around if it goes south! With this roster i dont see good things ahead.
I can't see it either and definitely wouldn't want him, but what does BB have to do with him coming here? Unless I'm missing something.
Just because he was coached by and worked for Belichick doesn’t mean he has the same philosophies on offense, defense, personnel, etc… He’s young and intelligent, I’m sure he understands that immobile pocket passers are out of fashion unless you have an elite offensive line like the Niners. I would have been excited about Vrabel but I can see the possibility that Mayo is more of a departure from Belichick than Vrabel would have been.
They obviously loved Mayo and have seen him as the HC for the future for awhile and I’m excited to see why. I know people are fretting over a defense-minded HC but having a good defense is still very important and we would be lucky if Mayo can maintain that strength of the Pats.
They obviously loved Mayo and have seen him as the HC for the future for awhile and I’m excited to see why. I know people are fretting over a defense-minded HC but having a good defense is still very important and we would be lucky if Mayo can maintain that strength of the Pats.
Really? Are they implying that the cost played even a minor role? (I doubt it). They dont think Kraft could have found someone cheaper than Mayo? (He could have).
If he cared *that* much about bad press, he would not have hired Belichick in the first place.
If you turn the M upside down it, appropriately, becomes the opposite. All things balanced.
It is worth noting NE thought highly enough of Mayo that they didn't even let him interview last year which would have netted them a 3rd rd pick had he been hired by another team. Or perhaps Mayo declined all interviews after they adjusted his contract either way they mutually decided he was worth more than a 3rd rd pick which is saying something.
The idea that BB doesn't believe in analytics isn't really true. Ernie Adams was very much an analytics guy, and he put that stuff in front of BB all the time.
https://www.espn.com/espn/eticket/story?page=adams&redirected=true
And Ernie had a hand in one of SoSH's favorites, Friday Night Lights:
Losing Ernie, BB's best friend, I think is the most underrated loss in the organization over the last 4-5 years.
https://www.espn.com/espn/eticket/story?page=adams&redirected=true
And Ernie had a hand in one of SoSH's favorites, Friday Night Lights:
Losing Ernie, BB's best friend, I think is the most underrated loss in the organization over the last 4-5 years.
Don’t Hold the Mayo
Cinco de Mayo
Hey Oh, the New Coach is Mayo
Just spitballing here.
I'm excited to see how Mayo manages the football operation, engages with the media, engages with the personnel department, etc. That's a huge part of his job. He can delegate offense, defense, game prep, etc. (which is why I am less worried about his defensive past, as long as he brings in an appropriate OC) but he has to manage. It sounds like he excels in this area, or at least that's what we've heard. Let's see how he does as the big boss and when things get tough. It's going to be a big challenge for him