Jerrod Mayo
Mayo’s firing was a pretty shocking outcome.
On one hand, he did a terrible job coaching. He consistently had no emotion on the sidelines and looked like he was not doing anything, even though he was not calling plays on either side of the ball. Off the field, he consistently gave terrible press conferences that only hurt the team.
With the exception of a few players like Drake Maye and Christian Gonzalez, we saw very little improvement from young players.
Reports that have come out since he was fired not help his cause. It seems like some players lost faith in him during the SPRING and no one has really defended him.
On the other hand, he was dealt as bad a card as you could have gotten. He replaced the greatest coach of all time. He had one of the worst rosters in the league, a career backup then a rookie starting at QB, and dealt with as many injuries as any team in the league.
The Athletic sums up how new people in the organization were too: “Patriots had a first-time front-office leader (Wolf), a first-time head coach (Mayo), a first-time defensive coordinator (Covington), a first-time offensive play caller (Van Pelt), a first-time special teams coordinator (Jeremy Springer), a first-time offensive line coach (Scott Peters), a first-time wide receivers coach (Tyler Hughes) and a first-time linebackers coach (Dont’a Hightower). It’s not that any one of them was a bad hire individually but that all of them together led to too many people figuring out their jobs on the fly.”
I’m not sure how much better he could’ve done in terms of record. However, when you combine the record with the lack of development and bad press conferences, that’s what likely led to him being fired.
While I do think one year is too little time to fire a head coach, between his time as an assistant and player, the organization clearly knows him well enough to make a decision. And if he is not the guy, they need to pivot as quickly as possible. Especially when the right guy was available…
Mike Vrabel
This was a great hire as he was the best coach available. The only two guys I would even want were him or Ben Johnson. Vrabel is a culture builder who knows the Patriots organization. He is the exact guy we need to lead us.
The one advantage Ben Johnson would have is being a super creative offensive playcaller that could benefit Drake Maye. However, getting Josh McDaniels gives us an equally gifted playcaller who we don’t have to worry about getting a head coaching gig.
Vrabel has a history of success with poor QB play. Drake Maye will be the best QB Vrabel has ever had, so that excites me for what they can do together.
A quick side note: I think this hire will work out. However, if it does not, the Pats need to move on completely from the dynasty era and stop trying to hold on to remnants of it. They did not do a coaching search when hiring Mayo and just gave him the job. Now this search was very limited and you can tell they only had Vrabel in mind. If Vrabel does not work, they need to do a massive search and bring in an offensive guy who is an outsider of the organization.
Offense
We did not know what to expect out of Drake Maye this year, but boy did he deliver. Given the fact that he had a rookie HC and OC, who both didn’t seem to know what they were doing and given the fact the Pats had the worst skill position players and offensive line in the league this year, I think Maye was the most impressive rookie QB.
Now they need to get him some weapons and build up the O-line in free agency and the draft, while continuing to develop their young WR and linemen on the team.
The sky is the limit for Maye.
The rest of the offense is up in the air. No one is that special or really stood out. Some of their young WRs like Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte showed promise and hopefully will still develop. TE Hunter Henry is a good security blanket for Maye. There isn’t much else to say beyond that, especially when it comes to the offensive line.
Defense and Special Teams
The Pats defense dealt with a ton of injuries, but they have some good players. Christian Gonzalez showed he’s one of the best CBs in the league. DE Keion White is solid. Hopefully, DT Christian Barmore will be back and healthy next year. There is some promise in the unit as a whole.
Special teams is looking solid between returner Marcus Jones and ST Brenden Schooler. Kicker may be a position they evaluate.
Draft and Free Agency
OFFENSE. OFFENSE. OFFENSE.
That NEEDS to be the theme of this offseason. You have a stud QB on a rookie deal that is still developing. Go get him some weapons and some good offensive linemen. There are projected to be many talented veteran WRs and OL available in free agency. The Pats have the cap space to overpay for a one or two year contract for some of these guys.
Future
The Patriots currently have a great head coach and great young QB. That is a recipe for success. Now they need to figure everything else out. This offseason will be huge in terms of charting their path moving forward. A great free agency and draft can lead to a team that can compete to make the playoffs next year, compete to make a run in the playoffs in 2026, and from 2027 and on, be a consistent contender.
NOTE: Updated 1/27/25 to reflect the Pats getting McDaniels as OC
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