- Mayo has been on the New England Patriots coaching staff since 2019
- Fired Titans coach Mike Vrabel is also a rumored coaching candidate
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The New England Patriots could make an internal move to replace Bill Belichick as head coach – with linebackers coach Jerod Mayo the front-runner for the job.
This morning, it was revealed that Belichick would not be returning to the team for the 2024 season after 24 years with the team.
Multiple reports indicate that Mayo, who just signed a contract extension with the team over the summer, is the favorite to be the team’s next head coach.
Back in March, Patriots team owner Robert Kraft tipped Mayo as ‘a strong candidate to be the heir apparent’.
The Patriots intend to conduct a formal coaching search – with a rumored list of candidates including the recently-sacked Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel on the list.
Patriots linebackers coach Jerod Mayo is the front-runner to take the vacant head coach job
It was announced Thursday morning that Bill Belichick wouldn’t return to the team in 2024
The Pats will conduct a coaching search with ex-Titans coach Mike Vrabel a rumored candidate
Both Vrabel and Mayo have experience in New England as both are franchise legends and Super Bowl winners.
Vrabel played eight seasons with the Patriots after arriving there via free agency from the Pittsburgh Steelers.
He helped the team win their first three Super Bowl titles: Super Bowl XXXVI, Super Bowl XXXVIII, and Super Bowl XXXIX.
After retirement, Vrabel coached at Ohio State and with the Houston Texans before taking the head coaching job with the Tennessee Titans.
Mayo was a lifelong Patriots player – having been drafted by the team with the tenth overall pick in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft out of Tennessee.
He led the league in tackles in 2010 and was named to his only All-Pro team and his first of two Pro Bowl teams that season.
Mayo won Super Bowl XLIX with the Patriots in the 2014 season and played one more season in 2015 before retiring.
After a brief professional football hiatus, Mayo joined the Patriots staff as an inside linebackers coach in the 2019 season.
