It didn't take the New England Patriots long to find their replacement for departed head coach Bill Belichick, with whom the team parted ways on Thursday after 24 years. The Patriots on Friday hired linebackers coach Jerod Mayo to take over the top job.
The reason it happened so quickly was simple: It was written into Mayo's previous contract with the team that he would be elevated to the head-coaching position to succeed Belichick. As our Tyler Sullivan noted, the team last offseason released an unprecedented statement saying it had engaged Mayo in contract extension talks to keep him in New England and prevent him from opting for any head coaching opportunities elsewhere
How did Mayo become the head-coach-in-waiting? Well, it probably has at least something to do with the fact that just about all of the former Belichick assistants who went on to become head coaches elsewhere in the NFL ended up failing in those roles. Mayo is now the 11th Belichick disciple to get an NFL head-coaching job. The previous 10 have a combined record of 223-310-2 (0.419) with a mere three playoff victories.
| Coach | Belichick Role | Teams | Career W-L | Playoff Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Groh | DC | Jets | 9-7 | 0 |
| Bill O'Brien | OC | Texans | 52-48 | 2 |
| Brian Flores | LB | Dolphins | 24-25 | 0 |
| Nick Saban | DC | Dolphins | 15-17 | 0 |
| Brian Daboll | AHC/WR/TE | Giants | 15-18-1 | 1 |
| Eric Mangini | DC | Jets, Browns | 33-47 | 0 |
| Josh McDaniels | OC | Broncos, Raiders | 20-33 | 0 |
| Romeo Crennel | DC | Browns, Chiefs, Texans | 32-63 | 0 |
| Matt Patricia | DC | Lions | 13-29-1 | 0 |
| Joe Judge | ST/WR | Giants | 10-12 | 0 |
| Total | Assistants | Various | 223-310-2 | 3 |
Obviously, Nick Saban had great success as a college coach, Flores has resumed being one of the NFL's best defensive minds, and Daboll led the Giants to a surprise playoff appearance in his first year in New York. But the rest of this group... yikes. Even O'Brien, who had a moderate degree of success in Houston, landed back in New England this past season and led an offense that averaged 13.9 points per game.
Mayo was a very good player during his time in New England, winning Defensive Rookie of the Year, making the Pro Bowl twice and All-Pro team once, and winning a Super Bowl in 2014, although he was on injured reserve during the playoffs. He retired after the 2015 season, and was hired by New England to be the team's inside linebackers coach in 2019. He quickly became viewed as a potential successor to Belichick, and he ended up being exactly that.
