Patriots left the Patriots after the 2023 season.
With the New England Patriots firing Jerod Mayo as head coach, asking his predecessor’s opinion has become quite popular. Bill Belichick briefly touched on the subject on the Pat McAfee Show on Monday, and gave a bit more detail during a joint appearance on the Let’s Go! Podcast.
One part of the discussion, featuring former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cower, stands out in particular: Belichick complaining about a lack of shared vision between himself and other parts of the Patriots organization during his final years with the team.
“You need that shared vision between ownership and coaching and scouting. And that’s when you can be successful,” Belichick said. “I know, Bill, you had that at Pittsburgh and I had that up until about the last four years in New England. And when you have that shared vision and everybody pulling in the same direction, you have a chance and you can get a lot done. And even if you don’t win at all, you’re still really competitive. And we’ve both been in that situation.
“But when you’re going in different directions, then that makes it really hard to keep up with everybody else. I think you look at the organizations and you can kind of see the ones that are and the ones that aren’t.”
As for Mayo’s firing, Belichick pointed to ownership having the freedom to make decisions.
“That’s his choice. People that own the team have the choice to do whatever they want to do,” he said. “The other people that were in place, I think Bill made a good point, it’s also the rest of the organization, it’s not just the head coach. So, you know, Robyn Glaser, Jonathan Kraft, whoever the other people are that are involved in those decisions and the structure of the organization.”