With limited coaching experience at any level, Jerod Mayo was seen as a surprise choice by many to succeed Bill Belichick as the next head coach of the New England Patriots. But there was something else that the Patriots ownership saw that put him over the top.
According to Sports Illustrated NFL insider Albert Breer, Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his family had a “gut feeling” on Mayo. Per the report, they were looking for a combination of “leadership, work ethic, emotional intelligence, overall intellect and… an ability to communicate, connect with and motivate young guys.”
Breer said that the Krafts have seen that in Mayo and have noticed how good of a leader he has been with the team since he first joined Belichick’s staff in 2019.
“The gut feeling on Mayo, I’m told, is about what the Krafts believe is most important in a head coach in today’s NFL — leadership, work ethic, emotional intelligence, overall intellect and, maybe most of all, an ability to communicate, connect with and motivate young guys,” Breer wrote. “The Krafts, again, aren’t guessing on that part. They’ve seen it as Mayo swiftly ascended through the ranks of Belichick’s coaching staff. He’s been the voice leading the defensive meeting room, more or less, since he dived into coaching for the 2019 season.”
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Nevertheless, Jerod Mayo comes into the job with perhaps the biggest microscope of any head coach in the league due to the legendary status of the man he’s taking over for.
Compound that with the Kraft family’s limited tolerance for failure and you have a recipe for a season that could very well be playoffs or bust.