Jerod Mayo is the new head coach of the New England Patriots, succeeding Bill Belichick after 24 seasons. Who is he? We speak with reporter Shalise Manza Young about Mayo’s new role.
Bill Belichick, the New England Patriots’ head coach for 24 years, resigned last week in a mutual agreement. One day later, Jerod Mayo, the team’s inside linebackers coach, was promoted. Mayo will be the NFL’s youngest head coach and the Patriots’ first black head coach. We are now joined by Shalise Manza Young. She has spent nearly a decade covering the Patriots and is here to help us make sense of it all. Hey, there.
SUMMERS: Thank you for being here. So, Shalise, how big of a deal is Jerod Mayo taking over the Patriots from Bill Belichick, who has been a great NFL coach?
YOUNG: Taking over for someone as established and accomplished as Bill Belichick is not an easy undertaking at all. Jerod Mayo is lucky to have the full support of the ownership group, including Robert Kraft and his son, Jonathan Kraft. They named him head coach-in-waiting last year. Jerod had scheduled interviews with other clubs for the head coaching post, and Robert Kraft was so dedicated to Jerod Mayo that he remarked,
No, please cancel them. They renegotiated his contract, thereby making him head coach-in-waiting. The NFL has the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview at least two non-white applicants for general manager, head coach, and coordinator positions. So it almost always occurs when the head coach-in-waiting is a Black or non-white coach.
SUMMERS: And Jerod Mayo, who has been on the Patriots’ coaching staff since 2019, was previously a linebacker with the Patriots. Could you perhaps tell us a little more about him?
