Robert Kraft addressed the media following the firing of head coach Jerod Mayo.
Following the firing of head coach Jerod Mayo, New England Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft addressed the media at Gillette Stadium Monday afternoon.
Here are the top takeaways from his availability.
Taking accountability
As Robert Kraft took the stage Monday afternoon, he used his opening statement to admit his mistake: “This whole situation is on me.”
Kraft hand picked Mayo as Bill Belichick’s successor years ago and acted quickly last winter to install Mayo as his next head coach. At the time of the hiring, the 38-year Mayo was the youngest head coach in the league and given the position without ever being a full time coordinator. The inexperience showed as he was thrusted into an unfair situation.
“I feel terrible for Jerod,” Kraft continued in his opening remarks, “because I put him in an untenable situation. I know he has all the tools to be of a head coach to be successful in this league. He just needed more time before taking the job.”
Coaching search has begun
After moving on from Belichick last year, a clause written into Mayo’s contract allowed New England to forgo a coaching search and immediately name Mayo as their 15th head coach in franchise history. This time around, the Patriots will have to undergo a full interview process which includes satisfying the league’s Rooney Rule.
“You need someone who players can relate to and respond to,” Kraft responded when asked who they’re looking for in their next head coach. “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.”
According to Kraft, the search will move fast and be extensive — which will include Executive Vice President of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf and Senior Executive Alonzo Highsmith — and has already begun with multiple requests for interviews submitted.
“We want to interview as many people as we can that we think can help us get to the position that we want to be in,” he explained. “We have put out requests.”
According to multiple reports, the Patriots have already submitted a request for Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. Elsewhere, Mike Vrabel has long been viewed as the favorite for the position.
“Before I’d make a comment [that Vrabel is near the top of the candidacy list] I’d like — I don’t know all the people involved and there are some wonderful people that we’ve heard about,” Kraft said.
“In the end, I’m a fan of this team first. And now I have to go out and find a coach who can get us back to the playoffs and hopefully championships.”
Future of the front office
Outside of Mayo, the Patriots have currently made no other moves to the coaching staff or front office — as they are currently operating as “status quo.” As expected, however, the next head coach will have a major say in both picking players and coaches.
“We’ll wait till we bring that coach in. He, obviously, is going to have big input in who the players are and who the coaches are — it’s his decision,” Kraft shared.
Despite the new coach seemingly having the power to shakeup the football operations department, Kraft confirmed that Wolf and his staff will be “staying on” as they are looking for people to work together. In addition to being involved in the coaching search, the personnel department will now need a strong draft with four expected top-80 selections.
“I think that department evolved a lot and a lot of things were changed. We changed our grading system this year,” Kraft said. “Our drafts have not been good — for awhile. If you want to compete long term and be good in this league you have to have good drafts… I think we’ll hopefully see a big improvement this year.”
Spending
No matter who is picking the players, it will be a major offseason for the Patriots to upgrade the talent level on their roster. New England holds the No. 4 pick in the upcoming draft and is expected to enter free agency with over $120 million in cap space — the projected most in football.
Following the firing of Mayo, the team will now have to pay out the remaining of his contract and any staff that is not retained — in addition to paying a new head coach and his staff. So, Kraft was asked if the added funds are expected to impact free agency spending?
“The answer is no,” he responded. “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 level out over three years, so we never get way out of hand. We want to win, that’s our priority first.”
Moving off of Mayo
In the team-released statement after Sunday’s game, Kraft wrote the move to fire Mayo was one of the “hardest decisions” he had ever made. While expectations weren’t lofty entering the season with a depleted roster, the regression from the team is what ultimately led to the move being made.
“I guess the main thing for me is I felt we regressed,” Kraft said. “The high point of everything was winning the Cincinnati game. And then in mid-season, I just think we started to regress.”
Following a late Week 14 bye, the situation completed unraveled on Mayo. Despite two blowout losses — including one at home that left fans chanting “Fire Mayo” — Patriots’ defensive players fired shots at the fan base and became vocal about how some level of change was needed. It was during that time that Kraft realized change was needed.
“This whole situation evolved but I’d say over the last month I went back and forth,” he explained. “In my life and my business I make certain decisions I know when it’s right and it just happened. It was very hard because 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.”
Why wait?
Entering Week 18 in possession of the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, a loss would have secured the top selection for the Patriots. With the decision ultimately already decided entering the week to move off of Mayo, some wondered if it would have been smart to make the move before the game in order to increase the odds of landing the No. 1 overall pick.
Kraft, however, made the head coach aware of the decision after he left the post-game podium for what was the final time.
“He was a man,” said Kraft when asked how Mayo took the news. “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 — and I really do believe he will go on as he gets more experience he’ll be successful.
“It was not easy. He was a gentleman and accepted it that way.”
Ownership also relayed there was no communication to Mayo and his staff on how they should approach the game, where they ultimately limited the role for a handful of veteran starters and won the game to see their draft selection slide back to pick No. 4.