I'm a big time Belichick homer, but it is time for him to move on. I absolutely will defend him tooth and nail over anyone trying to tear down his past accomplishments. He has proven all he ever needs to prove. But for all coaches/GMs in professional sports there is a shelf life and it is over for him here. Whether its him focusing too much on the defense, him being unable to connect with the players now given his age, the game as a whole moving him by, whatever reasons one wants to come up with, the fact is its no longer working and the team is not going in the right direction. If I'm Kraft, I give him the rest of the season and I won't call it a firing, but Belichick will have to step down from his role once the season is over.
I've thought for quite a while that Kraft wouldn't let him go because as bad as it was to see Brady win elsewhere, it would be even worse for it to also happen with Belichick. He wouldn't repeat the same mistake twice. But Kraft has to accept that as a risk now.
Also, if I'm Kraft I look long and hard in the mirror over the criticisms that have long been lodged towards Belichick but that I probably have a big hand in, the complaints over cash spending, the complaints over the Pats not being willing to push things out salary-cap wise as much as other teams, etc... The fact that Kraft spent all this money on the stadium renovations while the team did little during the offseason and has clearly regressed looks absolutely horrible. Some of that probably isn't fair, but the complains have long been out there and if I want my team to be as successful as it was the last 2 decades I need to put my ego in check and accept the fact that perception can matter more than reality.
As for the replacement, as much as Mayo deserves the shot, Kraft has to go with an offensive coach. We've seen it the last 3 years, the model of having a defensive minded head coach doesn't work that great in today's game. Mac Jones, who deserves a ton of blame himself, has had to go through 3 offensive coordinators in 3 seasons. With a defensive minded coach you always have the risk that someone comes in and steals your offensive coordinator and it puts you back considerably. We've seen it happen here after 2021. Get an offensive guy as the head coach and while yes, success will mean his coordinators are still at play of leaving, you'll still have the head guy around on the side of the ball that matters most. Mayo can stay as DC if the new coach wants it.