Joe Mazzulla Makes Sincere Statement on Patriots Coach Jerod Mayo's Firing

The firing underscored the reality of the job for head coaches, no matter what the sport.

Boston Celtics head coach Mazzulla looks on from the bench against the Washington Wizards in the second quarter at Capital One Arena. / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla addressed the firing of New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo on Tuesday. Mayo was let go Sunday after just one season leading the Patriots after the team concluded with a 4-13 record.

Mazzulla praised the Patriots' decision to go with Mayo as head coach just a year ago. The two built their relationship further and spent time learning from one another as fellow head coaches in the same city.

Now that Mayo is no longer the Patriots' coach, Mazzulla shared the reality of their profession when he was asked about the decision before the Celtics played the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday.

“The first part is you don’t realize the impact that it has on the assistants and their families and their kids,” Mazzulla said to reporters via Souichi Terada of MassLive. “To me, it’s bigger than just the head coach. You got assistants that believe in the head coach. You got assistants that move their families there, so there are people that are impacted by it. Second piece is, like you said, we’re hired to get fired. You enjoy it for as long as you can. After that, it’s done. That’s it.”

Joe Mazzulla brought up an under-discussed point when asked about the firing of Jerod Mayo:

“You don't realize the impact that it has on the assistants, on their families, on the kids. To me, it's bigger than just the head coach. You got assistants that believe in the head… pic.twitter.com/gIY1vMm0ml

— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) January 8, 2025

As Mazzulla rightfully pointed out, no matter the level of success, job security is fleeting as a head coach in professional sports.

The Patriots will now look for a fresh start, while Mazzulla and the Celtics aim to defend their title, currently sitting at 26-10 as the second seed in the Eastern Conference.

---

More of the Latest Around the NBA

feed