FOXBOROUGH — Robert Kraft made a brief statement and then took questions from the media less than 24 hours after firing Jerod Mayo after one season as Patriots coach. Some thoughts on what Kraft said and where the coaching search appears to be going ...
• It wasn't a surprise Kraft took the blame for the entire situation related to Mayo, but it was still important that he did it.
"This whole situation is on me. I feel terrible for Jerod because I put him in an untenable situation," Kraft said. "I know that he has all the tools as a head coach to be successful in this league. He just needed more time before taking the job.
"It was very hard because of the personal relationship. I feel for Jerod and the human being he is. I felt guilty I put him in that position, but we're moving on.
"Look, it was one of the more difficult things I've had to do in my life because I had such affection for him, and I believe in him. I really do believe he will go on and as he gets more experience, he'll be successful. It was not easy. He was a gentleman and accepted it that way."
• As for the reasoning for the firing, it sounded like the Krafts, or whoever they are listening to, were actually paying attention to what happened this season, how there was regression and no promise that things would get better.
"From my point of view, I just thought we had a rough year last year. Not ’24; ’23. Going through two years like that and then seeing where we were this year, especially the second half of the year, just made me feel we weren't going in the right direction," he said. "I don't want to go through this next year. We're going to do what we've got to do to fix it."
• I asked Kraft the spending question, and he had a solid answer but, again, not unexpected.
Q: Robert, this is going to be very expensive. Buying out a coaching staff, bringing in a new coaching staff, perhaps it goes to the personnel department. You also have $120 million in cap space this year, the most in the league. Will what you spend on this transition affect anything that you spend on players this offseason?
RKK: The answer is no. We've always had a situation where we spend to the cap. We have never told any coach or limited the spending. The only thing we've said is if you exceed the cap, we'd like to see it leveled out over three years so that we never get way out of hand. But spending to the cap or above the cap is not – we want to win. That's our priority first.
• The thing that made me uneasy was the responses about Eliot Wolf and the personnel department.
"We are looking for people working together and they will be staying on," Kraft said.
Later, he was asked a follow-up.
"I think that the department evolved a lot, and a lot of things were changed," Kraft said. "We changed our grading system this year and have done things. Our drafts have not been good for a while. If you want to compete long term and be good in this league, you've got to have good drafts because those rookie contracts allow you to go out and get the people you need to surround people. It looks like we lucked out; we maybe have two quarterbacks. But I think we'll hopefully see a big improvement this year."
Now, as I discussed last night, just because Wolf, Alonzo Highsmith, Pat Stewart and Matt Groh - among others - are "staying on" doesn't mean they are here for the long term. The personnel work has to continue during a crucial time, and Wolf and Highsmith will assist in the coaching search and interviews. If the Patriots had a rising personnel star the Krafts liked under Wolf, then you could see a firing. But they are set up that way.
• However, according to league sources, I do think the Krafts are going forward with the hope the front office stays in place with a new coach for at least one more season. Kraft was correct when he pointed out that the change in the grading system hasn't even been used yet - it was too late last season to get fully implemented.
Wolf certainly had a poor personnel first season, and if you want him out I understand. As opposed to the coaches, Wolf, Highsmith and Stewart are all highly qualified and they are very well respected in league circles.
But if Kraft is going to force the personnel department on the next coach, that is a huge mistake. Those shotgun marriages never work and it could keep some top candidates from being interested in the job.
• That being said, I do think Mike Vrabel is the leader in the clubhouse and a strong favorite to get the job. I do think the Jets interview increased the sense of urgency and it wouldn't be a surprise if discussions with Vrabel had already started. Perhaps the Krafts have an indication Vrabel with be OK with the front office.
It just better not be at the expense of bringing in Vrabel's chosen personnel chief, like Ryan Cowden. And if that happens, that makes for a situation with more tension.
• I do like how the Patriots will interview Ben Johnson and other candidates. Important for getting some data on the rest of the league. But I think the tell was Kraft saying "we'll move fast." I think they know who they want and are working towards that. Vrabel could be hired by the end of the week, if they move fast. The Patriots would just need to have in-person interviews with two minority candidates (people like Ron Rivera and David Shaw are free to interview now) and they could then hire a head coach.
• Full transcript, courtesy of Patriots Media Relations:
RKK: I'm going to be very brief here and say this whole situation is on me. I feel terrible for Jerod [Mayo] because I put him in an untenable situation. I know that he has all the tools as a head coach to be successful in this league. He just needed more time before taking the job. In the end, I'm a fan of this team first. Now, I have to go out and find a coach who can get us back to the playoffs and hopefully championships.
Q: Robert, when was the decision made in your mind? When was it that you felt you needed to let him go?
RKK: This whole situation evolved, but I'd say over the last month, I went back and forth. In my life, in my business, I make certain decisions I know when it's right and it just happened. It was very hard because of the personal relationship. I feel for Jerod and the human being he is. I felt guilty I put him in that position, but we're moving on.
Q: Hi Robert. What will happen with, for instance, the personnel department? What decisions will be made with whoever the next coach is, having the latitude to bring in his own players, his own scouting staff, his own coaches?
RKK: Yeah, we'll wait until we bring that coach in. Obviously, he's going to have big input on who the players are and who the coaches are. It'll be his decision.
Q: At this juncture, would it be status quo for everybody on the staff until an individual is found?
RKK: Yes. Look, we move fast and we're going to let him make those decisions.
Q: Robert, I know that you don't make snap decisions. I was wondering, at what point during the season did you sense something was not right? If you could expand on that, what caught your attention that something was not right?
RKK: Well, in the important decisions in my life, I've always said I measure nine times and cut once. This was one of those situations. I guess the main thing for me is I felt we regressed. The high point of everything for me was winning the Cincinnati game. Then mid-season, I just think we started to regress.
Q: Robert, how significantly has fan reaction to the product on the field and to Jerod specifically played into your decision?
RKK: Well, I'm the biggest fan, so I understand. Since the day we bought this team, I realized what a privilege it was and how lucky we were as a family, that this is the only business we're involved in where I see ourselves. We don't own this team. It's owned by the fans of this region. We're custodians of a very special asset of the community. That helps me try to make decisions that, if it was just personal, it would be different.
Q: Robert, aside from yourself and Jonathan [Kraft], who will be involved in the head coaching interviews and what traits are you looking for?
RKK: Well, we'll have Alonzo Highsmith and Eliot [Wolf] be involved. We're going to try to understand who can help us best get back to the playoffs.
Q: Robert, does that mean Eliot and his staff are going to continue on, or will the coaching hire also impact your front office?
RKK: We are looking for people working together and they will be staying on.
Q: Robert, when you say that the situation was untenable, what about it specifically did you find untenable, and how will that influence how you approach this search?
RKK: I don't like losing. I don't like losing the way we lost. Things were not developing the way we would have liked. It was time to move on.
Q: Robert, how big of a coaching search do you plan on conducting?
RKK: Well, we want to interview as many people as we can that we think can help us get to that position that we want to be in. So, we have put out requests and Stacey [James] will be filling you in on that.
Q: Is Mike Vrabel at or near the top of your list? That seems to be the talk.
RKK: Before I make a comment like that, I don't know all the people involved, and there are some wonderful people that we've heard about. So, I'd rather respond to that after I've seen everyone.
Q: Robert, can you speak a bit more to the timing of this? Did Jerod know before the game that this would be his last game coaching?
RKK: No.
Q: I know this was very difficult for you to sit down with him. How did he take it? How did he respond? Was he shocked by the news?
RKK: He was a man. Look, it was one of the more difficult things I've had to do in my life because I had such affection for him, and I believe in him. I really do believe he will go on and as he gets more experience, he'll be successful. It was not easy. He was a gentleman and accepted it that way.
Q: Robert, this is going to be very expensive. Buying out a coaching staff, bringing in a new coaching staff, perhaps it goes to the personnel department. You also have $120 million in cap space this year, the most in the league. Will what you spend on this transition affect anything that you spend on players this offseason?
RKK: The answer is no. We've always had a situation where we spend to the cap. We have never told any coach or limited the spending. The only thing we've said is if you exceed the cap, we'd like to see it leveled out over three years so that we never get way out of hand. But spending to the cap or above the cap is not – we want to win. That's our priority first.
Q: You guys were told this was a multi-year rebuild, that it wasn't going to turn around in one year. You said you believe in Jerod, you think he'll be better with more experience. So, why not let him get that experience here, knowing going in, this was a multi-year process?
RKK: From my point of view, I just thought we had a rough year last year. Not ’24; ’23. Going through two years like that and then seeing where we were this year, especially the second half of the year, just made me feel we weren't going in the right direction. I don't want to go through this next year. We're going to do what we've got to do to fix it.
Q: Is there one quality when you go through this search with a new coach that you’ll be looking for over everything else? Is there one quality, in your opinion, that will help lead to you getting back to being a contender and playing for championships?
RKK: No, it's really a composite. You need someone who players can relate to and respond to, but they need to have a team around them that has product knowledge, in-game adjustments, knowing what their system is, just a lot of things coming together.
Q: Robert, we saw Jonathan [Kraft] very animated during the Cardinals game on television. How much was he involved in this decision, and how is he going to be involved in this decision about who your next coach will be?
RKK: Well, for over 30 years, he's been with me in most decisions I've made in my life, surely business ones that are important. So, he will continue to be involved with me.
Q: We know that you addressed the team this morning, and a lot of the players were very on board with Jerod. They really liked him. What was the reaction from the players in terms of this decision?
RKK: Well, I didn't get a chance to really interact — believe it or not, we had some very important outside people coming here today on something unrelated to the Patriots. That's why we scheduled it this day a while back. I spoke to them about how I felt about Jerod and what I tried to convey here today earlier.
Q: Did you have any input with the coaching staff about how to handle the final game of the season with the No. 1 overall pick at stake?
RKK: No.
Q: The personnel department this past year in free agency didn't really have a banner year, and also in the draft. Eliot and some of the other individuals there – Matt Groh – have been part of the personnel department for a number of years. What is it that stands out to you about them that they should continue forward in the team building when the roster is not great?
RKK: Yeah. I think that the department evolved a lot, and a lot of things were changed. We changed our grading system this year and have done things. Our drafts have not been good for a while. If you want to compete long term and be good in this league, you've got to have good drafts because those rookie contracts allow you to go out and get the people you need to surround people. It looks like we lucked out; we maybe have two quarterbacks. But I think we'll hopefully see a big improvement this year.