Patriots Country

Patriots Legend Rips Team for Jerod Mayo Decision

A New England Patriots legend does not approve of the team's decision to fire head coach Jerod Mayo.

Matthew Schmidt

Feb 12, 2023; Glendale, Arizona, US; Former NFL player Rob Gronkowski looks on before Super Bowl LVII between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
Feb 12, 2023; Glendale, Arizona, US; Former NFL player Rob Gronkowski looks on before Super Bowl LVII between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
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The New England Patriots fired head coach Jerod Mayo following their Week 18 win over the Buffalo Bills, which certainly came as a surprise.

It's not that it was so shocking that the Patriots canned Mayo, as there was some speculation that New England could potentially part ways with him.

What was surprising was how soon it happened, and Pats legend Rob Gronkowski has made it clear that he is not a fan of the move.

"I was shocked by that, and to happen that soon is a shocker to a lot of people," Gronkowski said on Fox. " ... I think it was unfair to coach Jerod Mayo. I mean, he had never had the chance to develop as a head coach. He was just a rookie himself in that department, and if you judge a coach by their first year, that's really not appropriate."

Mayo went 4-13 in his lone season in Foxborough.

There are definitely two sides to the story here. While Mayo was handed arguably the worst roster in the NFL, he also didn't exactly endear himself to the Patriots.

Mayo was constantly putting his foot in his mouth in postgame press conferences, and his rather strange in-game decision-making was always a topic of discussion throughout the year.

And while some New England players did express support for him during the final month, there were numerous moments throughout the 2024 campaign where players were clearly not content.

The Pats are accustomed to excellence, and Mayo definitely did not bring that to the table this year.

This time around, the Patriots will surely conduct a more extensive coaching search, unlike last season when they had Mayo lined up for the job immediately after Bill Belichick's departure.

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Matthew Schmidt
MATTHEW SCHMIDT

Matthew Schmidt is a sportswriter who covers NFL, MLB, NBA and college football and basketball. He has been writing professionally since 2011 and has also worked for Bleacher Report, FanRag Sports, ClutchPoints, NFLAnalysis.net and NBAAnalysis.net. He was born and raised in New Jersey and has a rather eclectic group of favorite teams: the Boston Celtics, New York Giants and Miami Marlins.

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