Mayo Extension Close

RedOctober3829

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deep inside Guido territory
what do you give Mayo though?
He's probably not getting a HC job (though outside shot) but are you making him the D-Coordinator? If so what do you do with Steve? I guess maybe you keep him in a generic assistant role but calling plays? Can't think of another team that has a Coordinator who doesn't call plays except when the head coach is playcaller.
Steve should leave and try to establish himself somewhere away from his dad. Would be the best thing for his career.
 

soxhop411

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Patriots to extend Jerod Mayo; Will begin interviewing for an offensive coordinator
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – 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. In addition, the team will begin interviewing for offensive coordinator candidates beginning next week.
putting this here as well.. The headline and body of the Press release say two different things... headline said he has been extended, body says they discuss an extension
https://www.patriots.com/news/patriots-to-extend-jerod-mayo-will-begin-interviewing-for-an-offensive-coordinat
 

Justthetippett

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Patriots to extend Jerod Mayo; Will begin interviewing for an offensive coordinator


putting this here as well.. The headline and body of the Press release say two different things... headline said he has been extended, body says they discuss an extension
https://www.patriots.com/news/patriots-to-extend-jerod-mayo-will-begin-interviewing-for-an-offensive-coordinat
It’s weird for them to announce this before they actually extend him. Mayo is well liked by fans, but he’s been a pretty low level assistant to date. It’s not like Romeo and Charlie back in the 2000s, or the various Josh sagas. This makes me think they must be close. On the flip side, I really hope Mayo is being given actual opportunities at these HC interviews, not just being used to satisfy the Rooney rule.
 

Mystic Merlin

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Hmmm is that maybe why they haven't named coordinators? So they don't have to interview?
Maybe. But they’ve had seasons without a named coordinator before (no named OC in 2005, 2009, 2022; no named DC in 2010-11, 2018-22), and the Rooney Rule has applied to coordinator positions only since 2020.
 

Red Averages

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Also if Steve left, BB might retire. Lot of factors at play. Meanwhile he’s 35 years old and supposedly leading one of the top defenses in the league from literally the best coach of all time, who also happens to be his father, with his younger brother as the safeties coach. Why would you ever leave that role? Optics? Credit? Please
 

Hatcher Steals Home

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This coming from Patriots.com is definitely odd. Why bother announcing Mayo unless something is done?

Seems, I suppose, at least they are telling fans “we are doing something.” I don’t know that they owe us an announcement like this unless they are worried about leaks and misinformation while Mayo is (maybe no longer) taking HC interviews.
 

Cellar-Door

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This makes tons of sense. Can they say they interviewed Mayo for DC before naming SB to satisfy the Rooney Rule?
I would guess they just won't name a DC same as previous years, and SB will continue to be the playcaller and defacto DC.
 

Deathofthebambino

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Do we know what Mayo actually does on this team?
Personally, I believe Mayo is the closest thing on this team to the DC. Steve might be calling the plays, but he ain't the only one wearing a headset. A lot of folks talk about how Steve calls the plays, but that's not really how the Pats have ever described it. Steve "calls in" the plays, but Mayo and others are giving him input throughout.

A couple years back, people were saying Steve was calling the plays, but the NFL rulebook only allows coaches to be connected to the QB and defensive captain from the sideline. You can't communicate directly with a player from the booth. Steve was in the booth a lot at that time.

I told the story again last week in the other thread. BB loves Jerod Mayo. Loves him. I think keeping him here is a massive priority for BB, and this public announcement reiterates that. Mayo admitted last season to having DC opportunities that he turned down (the Browns I think specifically), and not even 3-4 days ago, Mayo was talking about pursuing interviews. BB does not want him going anywhere.

60024
 

Dotrat

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Would BK name Mayo as BB's replacement, or is that too much of a "hurry up and pass Shula and then retire" kind of thing?
I've been thinking this as well, especially given both Robert Kraft's age and BB's. While I don't think either has any plans to step back, much less retire, they're both at an age where succession planning is a must. I think we know that Jonathan will take over from his father--but we have no idea who'll succeed Belichick. The team would be irresponsible if they haven't at least thought of people they'd like to see step into both the GM and HC roles when BB retires, steps back, or dies.
 

Salem's Lot

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Would BK name Mayo as BB's replacement, or is that too much of a "hurry up and pass Shula and then retire" kind of thing?
Are we 100% sure that BB even wants to continue coaching? He could very easily retain Director of Football Operations and name Mayo as the head coach. It would significantly reduce his workload, and he would still have final say on everything. The Shula record might not mean much to him.
 

tims4wins

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BaseballJones

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Are we 100% sure that BB even wants to continue coaching? He could very easily retain Director of Football Operations and name Mayo as the head coach. It would significantly reduce his workload, and he would still have final say on everything. The Shula record might not mean much to him.
 

Cellar-Door

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Would BK name Mayo as BB's replacement, or is that too much of a "hurry up and pass Shula and then retire" kind of thing?
It's also a violation of league rules. You can't hire a coach without interviews, and if you announce years in advance even internally that you will hire a guy when you have a vacancy it's a clear indication that you are not satisfying the interview rules in good faith.
 

Bergs

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It's also a violation of league rules. You can't hire a coach without interviews, and if you announce years in advance even internally that you will hire a guy when you have a vacancy it's a clear indication that you are not satisfying the interview rules in good faith.
Which is somewhat ironic in this case, no?

"Through hiring best practices, the Rooney Rule aims to increase the number of minorities hired in head coach, general manager, and executive positions " - operations.nfl.com

So hiring a minority directly is somehow in violation of a rule meant to increase the number of minorities hired. Brilliant.
 

Eddie Jurak

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I would have assumed that if you announced in advance that you were hiring a minority coach it would not be viewed as a violation of the Rooney rule.
 

macal

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Couldn't the Patriots just say that as part of the contract extension negotiations, they interviewed Mayo? Or, do they need to interview a minority from outside the organization? I don't think anybody could complain if they broke the Rooney Rule, but hired a minority.
 

Zedia

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If Wikipedia is to be believed:
The rule does not apply if an assistant coach has language in his contract guaranteeing him the head coaching job in case of an opening.[21] For example, this was the case when Mike Martz took over as head coach of the St. Louis Rams before the 2000 season. Also, the requirement does not apply if the assistant coach taking over the head position is a minority, as was the case with Mike Singletary and the San Francisco 49ers in late 2008.[22]
 

Cellar-Door

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If Wikipedia is to be believed:
Way out of date, the external candidates rules were updated in 2021
https://operations.nfl.com/inside-football-ops/inclusion/the-rooney-rule/

I think the thought process is that there is more value to the Rooney rule interviews than just getting the job. Probably true as well, getting an interview one cycle usually makes you a candidate for more openings the next cycle. It also helps you leverage your current team for money/responsibility.
 

8slim

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There's no need to name a coach-in-waiting. You do that sometimes in college to keep the recruiting pipeline flowing, but that obviously isn't necessary in the pros.

I do think that if Bill loves Mayo as much as suggested, he needs to name him DC. If anyone should be expected to suck it up and deal with that scenario, it's the son of the head coach. Especially when we're talking about a seemingly beloved coach of color.
 

Ed Hillel

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Didn't they try to Coach in Waiting thing with McDaniels, and then he bolted anyway? Jets tried it once, as well, as I recall...They even had it in writing!

Edit - Actually, I believe McDaniels WANTED a coaching in waiting guarantee, but instead BB just promised to help him with some managerial stuff in his extra time, like dealing with the salary cap.
 
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BigJimEd

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Agreed no need to name coach in waiting. Only way it would make even the slightest of sense was if Belichick said this was his last year

As far as needing to name Mayo DC, I'm not sure that is required. As mentioned upthread, Mayo might be satisfied with title of Assistant Head Coach without being coordinator. There are plenty of those around the league
Way to reward and recognize valuable coaches.
 

BaseballJones

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It is fucked up if the Rooney Rule prevents hiring a black head coach without interviewing other people.
MOSTLY, but not TOTALLY. That's because one benefit of the Rooney Rule is that it lets minority candidates interview, and gain valuable experience in doing so. And organizations get to know some of these coaches that maybe they didn't know much of before, so it could open doors later on.
 

Deathofthebambino

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MOSTLY, but not TOTALLY. That's because one benefit of the Rooney Rule is that it lets minority candidates interview, and gain valuable experience in doing so. And organizations get to know some of these coaches that maybe they didn't know much of before, so it could open doors later on.
Right, but if they already know they are hiring Mayo, and they are only required to bring in one minority coach to interview (Mayo), what other minority candidates are gaining experience under the rule?

Basically, you're requiring a team that is hiring a minority coach to bring in white coaches to interview to meet the Rooney Rule. It's my understanding they wouldn't need to bring in more minority coaches (although they could).
 

BaseballJones

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Right, but if they already know they are hiring Mayo, and they are only required to bring in one minority coach to interview (Mayo), what other minority candidates are gaining experience under the rule?

Basically, you're requiring a team that is hiring a minority coach to bring in white coaches to interview to meet the Rooney Rule. It's my understanding they wouldn't need to bring in more minority coaches (although they could).
Right - so it would mean that the Pats would bring in ANOTHER minority candidate besides Mayo. Under such a circumstance the experience for that person would be valuable. This is why I said it's only MOSTLY messed up.
 

Deathofthebambino

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Right - so it would mean that the Pats would bring in ANOTHER minority candidate besides Mayo. Under such a circumstance the experience for that person would be valuable. This is why I said it's only MOSTLY messed up.
Gotcha, didn't realize the new rule change required them to bring in another external minority candidate to interview for a coordinator position (I knew it was required for HC).

Still stupid, IMO, if you are hiring a minority candidate anyway, but I can see the logic.
 

BaseballJones

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Gotcha, didn't realize the new rule change required them to bring in another external minority candidate to interview for a coordinator position (I knew it was required for HC).

Still stupid, IMO, if you are hiring a minority candidate anyway, but I can see the logic.
I don't know if it's REQUIRED. I was just thinking that a team like the Pats in this situation, MIGHT bring in another minority candidate, since they have to bring in SOMEONE else to satisfy the Rooney Rule.
 

macal

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I don't know if it's REQUIRED. I was just thinking that a team like the Pats in this situation, MIGHT bring in another minority candidate, since they have to bring in SOMEONE else to satisfy the Rooney Rule.
It may also make sense for them to interview other candidates, as part of the Rooney rule, for future consideration. They not only provide the minority candidate with valuable interview experience, but also get an idea of who is out there for future openings. It wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility that a candidate comes in to interview and blows their socks off.
 

Gambler7

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What do you give a guy to get him to turn down head coach opportunities? Wouldn't there have to be discussion about potential of head coach in waiting?
 

sezwho

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Josh got money and greater access. I assume this is similar. But mainly money.
Got to be title involved. Mayo still has to answer ‘so what do you do?’ In interviews and media, which limits his career. I think that’s a BB ‘feature’ to limit mobility but he may have to cough up an official job here.
 

Hatcher Steals Home

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Got to be title involved. Mayo still has to answer ‘so what do you do?’ In interviews and media, which limits his career. I think that’s a BB ‘feature’ to limit mobility but he may have to cough up an official job here.
You think BB tries to limit mobility of his coaches? His long history of success and the related coaching turnover strongly suggests otherwise.
 

The Mort Report

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Got to be title involved. Mayo still has to answer ‘so what do you do?’ In interviews and media, which limits his career. I think that’s a BB ‘feature’ to limit mobility but he may have to cough up an official job here.
I agree on the title. 20+ years ago I could see BB trying to hide coaches with lesser titles, I don't think that's smart now. It's nearly impossible to hide a bright mind with all the info available to teams, and the NFL instituted a rule in 2020 that makes it so teams can't block a position coach from interviewing for a coordinator job. So if they truly want to hang onto him, obviously throw money at him, they should give him a coordinator title to limit the ability for other teams to poach him
 

Reverend

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I’ve always wondered what goes in in these interviews anyway. Like, there’s literally video tape of the outcomes you’ve produced.

I once asked an academic who was an all campus advisor of job interviewing why the whole process wasn’t just: Here’s my C.V., here’s a sample of my written work, here are some of my course syllabi, here are my written recommendations, and here’s a video file of me teaching. Like, what does the interview actually get you of substance besides “Do I think this person would be fun at faculty meetings?” It gave her pause and she was like, “Uh, that’s a good question.”

I also wonder about revealing personal trade secrets:

“I think there’s an economic inefficiency we can exploit by going to a 3-4 with a hybrid OL-linebacker “elephant” type that is currently underpaid.”

“Brilliant! We’ll be sure to pass that along to the person we actually hire.”
 

Super Nomario

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I’ve always wondered what goes in in these interviews anyway. Like, there’s literally video tape of the outcomes you’ve produced.

I once asked an academic who was an all campus advisor of job interviewing why the whole process wasn’t just: Here’s my C.V., here’s a sample of my written work, here are some of my course syllabi, here are my written recommendations, and here’s a video file of me teaching. Like, what does the interview actually get you of substance besides “Do I think this person would be fun at faculty meetings?” It gave her pause and she was like, “Uh, that’s a good question.”
NFL team coaching is a collaborative process, so outcomes tell you one thing, but you still don't know what part the coach in question played. Plus guys are often interviewing for roles they haven't performed (e.g. QB coach interviewing for OC role, or OC interviewing for head coach role), so it would be important to tease out how much they understand / what their philosophies are in areas they haven't had a chance to demonstrate on the field.

I also wonder about revealing personal trade secrets:

“I think there’s an economic inefficiency we can exploit by going to a 3-4 with a hybrid OL-linebacker “elephant” type that is currently underpaid.”

“Brilliant! We’ll be sure to pass that along to the person we actually hire.”
Some of this happens. Bill Belichick has talked about interviewing with Al Davis, that Davis always hired offensive coaches and was just meeting with Belichick to pick his mind on D: "He was asking a lot of questions about what we did defensively. You kind of don't want to give too much information there because you know he's running the defense."
 

luckiestman

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I’ve always wondered what goes in in these interviews anyway. Like, there’s literally video tape of the outcomes you’ve produced.
Head Coaches coach the other coaches; there is no tape of that. This is why there is so much Peter Principle stuff in the NFL. Mike Lombardi talks about this a lot.