Changes are coming to Foxborough, Mass. but head coach Jerod Mayo doesn’t want people to take it as any disrespect towards his former coach and mentor Bill Belichick.
Speaking to reporters this week, Mayo made it clear that any shifts in style or approach aren’t necessarily shots at the six-time Super Bowl winner. But rather a way to create a looser environment for his players.
“It’s going to be different, but at the same time I would say Bill did a great job for a long period of time,” Mayo said, via ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “I don’t want you to take this as ‘because we’re changing, there are shots toward the previous regime.’ In saying that, we will do it differently and it will feel different. But at the end of the day, we would like to replicate the success that the prior regime has had. I learned a lot from Bill and also his staff. Now we’ll see what this chapter looks like in the franchise.”
Adding, “It’s been done a certain way at a high level for 20-plus years. But I’d also say there’s more than one way [to do it]. It worked for Coach. We’ll see what works for Eliot [Wolf] and myself.”
Mayo is entering his first season ever as head coach after a highly-successful playing career and years as an assistant. He was an outstanding leader as a player and now he’ll look to do the same on the sideline.