Some of my previous reporting on Mayo's future:
Dec. 10: Jerod Mayo should be coaching for his job over the final four games
Dec. 22: Dear Robert and Jonathan, here's a reality check on the state of the Patriots
Dec. 28: Blowout loss to Chargers was Patriots organizational embarrassment - starting with the Krafts
Jan. 1: Blowout loss to Chargers was pathetic and an indictment on Mayo, Krafts
Saturday: What if this was just one big interim season for Mayo, Wolf and everyone else?
_________________________
FOXBOROUGH — Jerod Mayo strode to the podium after his team's fourth win of the season with an enthusiasm we haven't seen in weeks, probably since the Bears game, their last win before their second six-game slide of the season.
Winning, even a meaningless game against a Bills team that seemed determined not to allow the Patriots to get the No. 1 pick, is an elixir in this sport, especially when you've been in the spotlight like Mayo has in recent weeks.
But when the discussion turned to Mayo's future, he seemed tight. We have seen his borderline cocky demeanor and talk about getting better in Year 2 sort of disappear. For a long time, it felt like Mayo operated like his future was assured, at least in his own mind. That no longer appears to be the case. The atmosphere was heavier than normal.
"At some point in time here, I'll have my normal meeting with the Krafts and we'll see where it goes from there," Mayo said at the end of his opening comments.
It didn't get that far. Not long after the post-game interviews wrapped up, the Patriots sent out a statement from Robert Kraft announcing Mayo had been fired after just one season. I can't remember an NFL coach being fired that quickly after a game. Usually it comes later that night, or Monday morning. To not even make it to Black Monday says a lot.
There's a lot of things going on right now, a lot of questions - including about the staff and Eliot Wolf. I think the best way to proceed is to answer them here. It has been announced that Robert Kraft will be made available to reporters at 1 p.m. tomorrow, so we'll get his answers on Monday.
Why now and why so fast?
I'm very surprised it happened this quickly. I thought Mayo would at least get the chance to state his case on Monday to the Krafts. That it didn't even get that far indicates to me that there were other factors than just the on-field product. As I've reported previously, the Krafts had been calling around and doing some investigating during the course of this season, and that included getting some background on Mayo's role in Bill Belichick's final season. Mayo really did rub a lot of people on the coaching staff the wrong way with his actions and attitude, and I don't think the Krafts knew about those factors. They've since done their due diligence on Mayo and I don't think they liked some of what they heard. The people who worked with Mayo previously thought he had no business being a head coach, he didn't know what he didn't know, and that's how things played out. It also wouldn't surprise me if there was some back and forth between Mayo and the Krafts about their lack of support publicly when Mayo's future was questioned in the last month. That could have led to more tension at the end.
But the biggest factors were a) on-field product - the Patriots never showed the improvement over the course of a season that, for example, Dan Campbell did his first season in Detroit. There was no identity established. No culture. The messaging from Mayo and the players was all over the place and embarrassing. Mayo couldn't even help the defense be average. And b) the Krafts realized this is a crucial time for the Patriots' franchise with Drake Maye's future, $120 million in cap space, and the 4th overall pick and they didn't want to compound an error by setting the franchise back even further. The Patriots need a sure thing right now, and Mayo was far from that.
Is Eliot Wolf being retained? How does that happen?
For now. It doesn't mean he's the personnel executive in charge when it comes to free agency and the draft when all is said and done. Right now, the Patriots have no idea when they are going to hire their next coach. Last year, most firings happened on Jan. 8. These are the dates of the hirings:
The New England Patriots hired Jerod Mayo as their next head coach on January 12 (succession).
The Las Vegas Raiders hired Antonio Pierce as their head coach on January 19 (interim coach).
The Tennesse Titans hired ex-Bengals OC Brian Callahan as their next head coach on January 22.
The Chargers hired ex-Michigan HC Jim Harbaugh as their next head coach on January 24.
The Atlanta Falcons hired ex-Rams DC Raheem Morris as their head coach on January 25.
The Carolina Panthers hired ex-Bucs OC Dave Canales as their head coach on January 25.
The Seattle Seahawks hired ex-Ravens DC Mike Macdonald as their next head coach on January 31.
The Washington Commanders hired ex-Cowboys DC Dan Quinn as their next head coach on February 1.
This is prime draft evaluation period with several all-star games on tap, and free agency to prepare for. You don't fire a general manager unless you have a second in command you have great confidence in. If the Krafts fired Wolf now, you'd be looking at Pat Stewart or Matt Groh as leading the personnel department. Stewart could definitely do it and has contacts throughout the league, but he might not have much of a relationship with the Krafts. Groh does, but putting him in charge would lead to a revolt in the streets. Keeping Wolf in place makes sense, and most personnel departments stay intact through the draft.
Plus, someone is going to need to help the Krafts through through process with interview requests, conducting the interviews, etc. Wolf is the guy to do that.
Whether he stays on long-term is largely going to be determined by which coach they select. Doing a shotgun marriage would be a huge error. The coaching candidates will all have thoughts on how to staff the personnel department, especially who is in charge. That will determine Wolf's fate. He could be bumped up to team president.
In short, it doesn't mean anything that he wasn't fired today.
What about the assistants?
As of this writing, they had not been told anything but that's not unusual. However, when a head coach is fired, the assistants are basically fired. Those under contract might have the ability to interview with the new head coach. Sometimes teams squat on assistants under contract (not let them interview for other jobs), but that's rare and I have a hard time seeing that happen. It's not a good look.
Why didn't they just do a year ago?
I think Kraft wanted to hold his word to Mayo, and give him the opportunity to show he could do the job. He did not.
And I don't really think anything was harmed since all the Patriots' assets are intact (and they discovered Maye). And if it's Vrabel, he picked up valuable experience and knowledge in Cleveland coaching offense and dealing with their analytics department.
How quickly can the Patriots hire Mike Vrabel?
Relatively quickly - if the Krafts don't care about upholding the spirit of the Rooney Rule, or doing a wide search.
The Patriots could interview Vrabel at any time. To hire him, they would just need to interview two minority candidates in person. That can happen more quickly with candidates who are not working in the NFL, in college football, or who get fired or are out of their contract on a team not in the postseason.
The Patriots could interview Vrabel tomorrow, Ron Rivera and Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman after that to satisfy the Rooney Rule, and then hire Vrabel by the end of the week.
As I wrote about last night, I absolutely think Vrabel set up his Jets interview before the season finale to put pressure on the Krafts. I would guess there's been some backchanneling there.
I do think Vrabel is the leader in the clubhouse. It's possible Josh McDaniels could be his offensive coordinator, but that's far from a sure thing. McDaniels has other NFL options.
What about Ben Johnson and other candidates?
Giardi had a great rundown of the list the other day. But it gets really complicated as to when the interviews can take place. Diana Russini of The Athletic had a good rundown the other day. Some top candidates:
Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn, Lions offensive and defensive coordinators: If the Lions get the NFC’s No. 1 seed, Johnson and Glenn can interview virtually any time between Wednesday and Jan. 13. If the Lions lose on Sunday night and are playing on wild-card weekend, they can interview virtually three days after Detroit’s first playoff game, up until Jan. 19. In-person interviews can’t start until the Lions’ season ends, and no earlier than Jan. 20.
Brian Flores, Vikings DC: If the Vikings get the NFC’s top seed, Flores can interview virtually any time between Wednesday and Jan. 13. If Minnesota loses on Sunday night and is playing on wild-card weekend, Flores can interview virtually three days after the Vikings’ first playoff game, up until Jan. 19. In-person interviews can’t start until the Vikings’ season ends, and no earlier than Jan. 20.
Liam Coen, Buccaneers OC: If the Bucs make the playoffs, Coen can interview virtually starting three days after their wild-card game and until Jan. 19. In-person interviews can’t start until the Bucs’ season ends, and after Jan. 19. If Tampa Bay misses the playoffs, Coen can start interviewing virtually on Wednesday, but can’t interview in person until Jan. 20.
Anthony Weaver, Dolphins DC: If the Dolphins miss the playoffs, Weaver can interview virtually starting Wednesday, and in-person starting on Jan. 20. If the Dolphins make the playoffs, Weaver can interview virtually starting three days after their wild-card game and until Jan. 19.
I think that's it for now. Obviously Mike and I will be on top of this as it develops and we get more information.