The New England Patriots may know who they want to replace Bill Belichick as their next head coach.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the organization has a “contractual succession plan” with linebackers coach Jerod Mayo. The Patriots communicated this plan with the NFL.
New England could circumvent an arduous search by hiring Mayo, a “strong candidate” for the position.
Sources: Jerod Mayo is a strong candidate to replace Bill Belichick & if he is the choice, the #Patriots could simply hire him. No need to go through the lengthy hiring process — they established a firm, contractual succession plan in a prior contract & communicated it to the… pic.twitter.com/xZYUgEkUuC
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 11, 2024
When reporting the news of Belichick’s departure Thursday morning, ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Mike Reiss called Mayo a “leading candidate” for the vacancy.
Rapoport’s colleague, Mike Garafolo, said he expects a “targeted search” before the Patriots hire someone with ties to the team. If not Mayo, they could pursue the recently fired Mike Vrabel.
Mayo played all eight seasons of his NFL career under Belichick. The 2008 Defensive Rookie of the Year recorded 802 tackles and 11 sacks with an All-Pro nod and Super Bowl ring before joining Belichick’s coaching staff in 2019.
New England signed Mayo to a contract extension early last year. Shortly after, Patriots owner Robert Kraft discussed the possibility of Mayo eventually replacing Belichick.
“Well, he’s definitely a strong candidate to be the heir apparent, but we have some other good people in our system,” Kraft said in March.
Rapaport noted that other teams have taken similar steps toward developing a succession plan. The Indianapolis Colts created a bridge for Tony Dungy to replace Jim Mora Sr. in 1998, and the Seattle Seahawks planned for Jim Mora Jr. to succeed Mike Holmgren in 2009.