The New England Patriots are the story of the NFL on Monday after stunningly firing head coach Jerod Mayo shortly after their regular season finale. Getting a win on the final Sunday of the regular season wasn't enough to save Mayo's job, as he was out as head coach very shortly after the Patriots knocked off the Buffalo Bills 23-16.

As soon as the decision was announced, opinions were flying about whether the Patriots' decision was right or justified. Mayo's defenders shouted that he was given a raw deal and didn't have the talent to compete with this roster in his first season as head coach. Patriots owner and CEO Robert Kraft agrees with them and took the blame for the way that the whole situation played out, according to Dianna Russini of The Athletic.

“Patriots Robert Kraft taking FULL on accountability and blaming himself for putting Jerod Mayo in a situation he admits he wasn’t ready for as the HC of the Patriots,” Russini reported on X, formerly Twitter.

Kraft later said that the decision to fire Mayo was the hardest decision that he has ever had to make, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

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The truth is that Mayo absolutely didn't have enough talent to compete for a playoff spot or even be competitive with this roster. Drake Maye stepped in as a rookie quarterback and was immediately the best player on the offense. The offensive line was one of the worst in the league, the Patriots were never able to run the football consistently and the pass catching group never had anybody break out as the top option. Maye and Mayo were working with a patchwork group on that side of the ball and it was impossible to expect better production from that part of the team.

The defensive side of the ball is a little more complicated. The Patriots returned a lot of the same personnel that they had last season, when Bill Belichick had them as a very good defense. As a defensive guy, Mayo has to take some of the blame for the regression of that group, but the regression of some of the players is also likely out of his control.

That being said, there were plenty of media-related things and game management issues that Mayo certainly could have done a better job with, and that ultimately was a big part of this decision. While Kraft had to make a difficult choice, it was justified based on the way the season went.