The annual New England Sports Survey was released this week which showed the Patriots still are the region’s favorite team. Despite Bill Belichick’s departure after 24 years as head coach, the survey indicates the Patriots remain as “beloved” by local fans as they were 10 years ago after winning Super Bowl XLIX.
As if there weren’t enough pressure on new Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo, he and his team have the responsibility to keep the Patriots in the top spot in the eyes of the area’s fans.
Mayo, who starred at linebacker for the Patriots (2008-15) and later was a top assistant coach for them (2019-23), was promoted last January to the enviable (?) role succeeding Belichick, a future Hall of Famer.
The task ahead is a challenging one for Mayo. However, growing up with three brothers in a single parent household in Hampton (VA), it is not the first demanding task he has had to face.
Mayo’s maternal grandfather Walter Johnson retired as a Master Sergeant from the Air Force and later began renovating Hampton-area homes. Mayo and his young brothers often were recruited to assist.
“I remember my grandfather making us jump into trash cans to push the trash down,” Mayo recently told the Boston Globe. “He would wake us up at 5 o’clock in the morning. As a 12- or 13-year old boy, no one wants to wake up at 5 o’clock to go paint houses and things like that. At the time, it was crazy…just brutal. But when I look back on those things—and I do often look back—I really appreciate all the lessons bestowed upon us.”
The stakes are higher now for young Mayo, who has been a head coach for just two months. He and the team’s new de facto general manager Eliot Wolf have made considerable changes in their approach to player personnel decisions. “Collaboration” is the new buzzword in Foxboro since Belichick’s departure. They have traded big name players, been active this week in veteran free agency signings, and are preparing together for next month’s Draft.
The Patriots have had losing records each of the last two seasons, including finishing 4-13 last year. NFL alum Mayo is confident he will be able to lead the team back to prominence.
“I think we can get back to where we need to be….at the top,” Mayo says while realizing many fans will be watching to see if team ownership made the right decision in selecting the first-time head coach.
We at NFL Alumni also will be interested to see if our brother Jerod Mayo will prove to be as good a head coach as he was as a Pro Bowl player. We believe he is off to a very strong start and we wish him well in the years ahead. Go Pats!
