NFL Rumors: Jerod Mayo's future in jeopardy amid Patriots' tumultuous 2024 season, per insider

For the New England Patriots and Jerod Mayo, 2024 was always going to be a season of tough times. With a new head coach in place after almost two decades, and one of the weakest rosters in the league, expectations about making deep runs were low in New England.

However, Mayo's job was still unimpressive. More often than not, the Patriots felt like a team with insufficient coaching. His dealings with the press also became a constant source of anxiety, with the head coach backtracking from many statements he made in public.

Still, with such low expectations and no surprise about the Patriots' record, the expectations were that Mayo would get at least a second year to improve the human material and show his credentials as a head coach. However, a recent report from The Athletic's insider Dianna Russini stats that this might not be the case:

The Patriots did not even search for other candidates following Bill Belichick's departure, as the rookie head coach had a clause in his contract stating that he should be the next head coach of the New England Patriots. It's fair to wonder if Robert Kraft believes he made a mistake by inserting the clause.

Why is Jerod Mayo's job security being discussed?

After Bill Belichick left the team, huge changes were expected to follow. Instead, the roster stayed largely the same, and Robert Kraft hired one of Belichick's assistants, Jerod Mayo, to become the head coach. The result has been an underwhelming year, with a 3-13 record and not much to be hopeful for, except the development of rookie quarterback Drake Maye.

He was the 10th overall pick of the 2008 NFL Draft and played until 2015 in the league, all with the Patriots. After retiring, he spent three years away from the NFL but returned to the team in 2019 as the inside linebackers coach, a position he held until 2023.

A Week 1 win over the Cincinnati Bengals was a surprising moment, but after that upset, it never looked like the Patriots were going to surprise anyone this season. Their lack of preparation and quality is the biggest reason why the head coach could lose his job sooner rather than later.