5 biggest failures in Jerod Mayo's tenure as Bill Belichick's successor for Patriots

After just one season, Jerod Mayo was fired from the New England Patriots. The former linebacker, who played for eight seasons with the team from 2008 to 2015, took over from Bill Belichick after the legendary head coach left the job, but he couldn't muster a good season.

There were many blunders by the coach during his one-year tenure, and it became unsustainable to keep him even as the team won the season-finale. As such, New England will now have a clean slate to find a head coach to develop Drake Maye.

Let's remember the five biggest mistakes made by Jerod Mayo during his head coach tenure.

5 biggest failures from Jerod Mayo's tenure as Patriots head coach

#1 - Starting Jacoby Brissett in Week 1

The best thing from the Patriots' season was Drake Maye playing, with plenty of promise coming from the young quarterback. According to all reporters who covered training camp, he was their best quarterback during the offseason.

But when the regular season started, veteran Jacoby Brissett got the starting nod. He led the team through a single win in five games, scoring less than 21 points in all five games, before Maye officially became the starter.

#2 - Blaming players after bad performances

Things started to get stranded in November. With New England struggling badly throughout the season, and many fans calling for better coaching and performances on the field, the head coach decided to declare that he wasn't to blame for what was happening:

“Once those guys cross the white lines, there’s nothing I can do for them. There’s nothing any coach can do for them once they cross the white line. It’s my job to continue to prepare not only them but our coaches to go out here and play better football.”

Not a good thing to say to the reporters when you're 3-9.

#3 - 68-yard field goal against the Indianapolis Colts

In Week 14 against the Indianapolis Colts, the Patriots had a good chance of provoking an upset. The game was close through all four quarters, and New England was leading at halftime, but had the ball in the final drive losing 25-24.

There wasn't much time remaining on the field, but they still had the chance for a hail mary. However, Mayo decided to call an improbable 68-yard field goal attempt in an open stadium, and Joey Slye had no chance of making the kick, ending the contest with a loss.

#4 - Lying about Antonio Gibson in Week 17

During the week, the head coach stated during a press conference that he would give the starting nod to Gibson for his role during practices. Rhamondre Stevenson had been the leading back for most of the year, but he wanted to try new things.

When the game against the Los Angeles Chargers started, Stevenson was once again the running back. It was a 40-7 loss, with the fans calling for Mayo's job.

#5 - Winning the final game and losing the 1st pick

The last straw came with the franchise needing only a loss to hold the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Drake Maye got the nod as the starter, but Joe Milton, who took 1st team reps during the week, played the game.

As weird as it sounds, the Patriots had no incentive to win the game. What happened? Mayo led the team in a win against the Buffalo Bills. Both teams played their reserves, but with the triumph, New England fell from the 1st overall pick to the 4th overall pick.