Patriots Country

Vikings DC Named Patriots Best Jerod Mayo Replacement

The New England Patriots could turn to a Minnesota Vikings coach to replace Jerod Mayo.

Evan Massey

Dec 15, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo against the Arizona Cardinals in the second half at State Farm Stadium.
Dec 15, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo against the Arizona Cardinals in the second half at State Farm Stadium. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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With the final game of the 2024 NFL season coming up on Sunday for the New England Patriots, there are a lot of questions swirling around the franchise.

First and foremost, the question about the future of head coach Jerod Mayo needs to be answered.

All season long, Mayo has been rumored as a potential candidate to be fired after just one season. The team has struggled under his leadership and he has not done himself any favors when he has talked to the press.

It seems likely that the Patriots will bring him back for another season in 2025, but there is still a chance that they could replace him.

With that being said, Pro Football Network has offered a very intriguing potential replacement candidate.

They believe that Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores would be the best fit for New England. He has been involved with the Patriots before and returning to the franchise would be a homecoming for him.

Flores is known for being an elite defensive mind. He has helped lead the Vikings to being one of the best teams in the NFC and a legitimate Super Bowl contender this season.

He has previous head coaching experience with the Miami Dolphins, although his tenure there did not go well. Things ended on a very negative note between the two sides.

A much more popular scenario would see New England replace Mayo with Mike Vrabel. That has been the scenario that fans have been clamoring to see. However, if the Patriots were to move on from Mayo, Vrabel would not be the only candidate.

Of course, all of this is just speculation at this point in time. Mayo remains the team's head coach and was hand picked by Robert Kraft to replace Bill Belichick. Moving on from him would be a big decision to make.

Expect to hear more news about Mayo and New England once the final game of the season is over. If they happen to get blown out by the Buffalo Bills' backups, it would be much more likely that a change could occur.

If the Patriots were to move on from Mayo, Flores would be a name to keep a close eye on.

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Evan Massey
EVAN MASSEY

Evan Massey is a sports reporter and analyst who covers college football, the NFL and NBA. He has contributed to the On SI network since July 2021. He has also written for ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, Forbes, Bleacher Report, NFLAnalysis.net, NBAAnalysis.net and many other publications. In his free time, Evan enjoys spending time with his wife and son.

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