Tom Brady's former backup makes opinion clear on top choice for Patriots OC after Jerod Mayo's one-and-done era

It wasn't exactly a Black Monday inauguration but the New England Patriots made the decision to fire Jerod Mayo after just one year at the helm. Mayo, a rookie head coach who was supposedly tapped up to be Bill Belichick's successor all of five years ago by billionaire franchise owner Robert Kraft, spent all of the 2024 season battling various issues as the Patriots regressed even more after Belichick's departure.

Mayo's firing means there are now five head coach vacancies in the NFL - the Patriots, Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars. On Monday, the Patriots requested an interview with Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, arguably the hottest candidate in the 2025 coaching cycle.

A question posed on social media brought up the subject of who the Patriots should line up as OC if they fail to hire Ben Johnson. Former Patriots quarterback Brian Hoyer, who served as an able deputy for Tom Brady for two years, believes the franchise should bring back Josh McDaniels.

Hoyer posted a "100" emoji in response to a post by @SavageSports asking whether McDaniels should be top choice to replace Alex van Pelt.

McDaniels worked on all nine of the teams that reached Super Bowls under Bill Belichick. He was also the Patriots' offensive coordinator when they reached Super Bowls in the 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018 seasons.

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Patriots set to tussle with New York Jets for Mike Vrabel

The Jets, also without a head coach after firing Robert Saleh in the middle of the season, have already interviewed Mike Vrabel. The popular opinion among NFL fans was that Vrabel would be a lock to coach the Jets next season, until the Patriots fired Jerod Mayo.

Given Vrabel won three Super Bowls with the Patriots and was also strongly linked with replacing Bill Belichick this time last year, the Krafts could choose to right last year's wrongs and bring Vrabel on board.

The Patriots currently stand to have just over $130 million in cap space and also have the No. 4 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, offering any incoming head coach a major opportunity to assemble a winning team around Drake Maye.