The New England Patriots and Robert Kraft acted swiftly in replacing Bill Belichick, officially naming Jerod Mayo as their next head coach on Friday.

Mayo earned the top job after spending the last five seasons on the Patriots' coaching staff, working as a linebackers coach for his entire time staff before the promotion. While Mayo was never officially named defensive coordinator, he quickly earned respect in the coaching ranks, receiving a few head coach interviews in recent seasons. Plus, as it turns out, Mayo had long been part of New England's Belichick succession plan.

As we await for the Patriots to officially introduce Mayo on Wednesday, here are four reasons why the decision to promote him was a good move.

1. Former players have done well as head coaches in recent years

Some believe the best way to find a successful head coach in recent years is to hire someone who's a part of Kyle Shanahan's or Sean McVay's coaching tree.

There have been former assistants for both coaches who've had successful stints as head coaches. But arguably the trend that has had the most success is to hire a former NFL player, specifically one who is under the age of 50.

Of the five coaches who met that criteria this season, two of them made the playoffs, with DeMeco Ryans instantly turning the Houston Texans around and Dan Campbell helping the Detroit Lions turn into one of the NFC's top teams and ending their playoff win drought.

Of the three who didn't make it, one of them was Mike Vrabel, who led the Tennessee Titans to a winning record in four of his first six seasons with the team and helped them to one their best stretches of play in franchise history. Kevin O'Connell led the Minnesota Vikings to the postseason in his first year on the job in 2022 and nearly got back there this season with Kirk Cousins missing much of the year. Finally, Antonio Pierce went 5-4 as the Las Vegas Raiders' interim coach, galvanizing the team that appeared to be lifeless at the end of Josh McDaniels' tenure.

2. He quickly became respected in the coaching ranks

It didn't take too long for Mayo to land head coach interviews. He joined the Patriots' staff in 2019 and by the end of the 2020 season, he interviewed with the Philadelphia Eagles for their head coach vacancy.

While Mayo lost out to Nick Sirianni for the job, he seemed to leave a strong impression.

“Philadelphia, when he interviewed there, he blew them out of the water,” Fox Sports NFL insider Jay Glazer told NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry of Mayo’s interview with the Eagles following the 2020 season.

Glazer said he told the Eagles' front office that he thought that decision was a mistake.

“They called me about it, and I said, ‘If he really blew you out of the water that much, don’t make a mistake and whiff on him,'” Glazer said. “The Dolphins did that with Mike Tomlin. ‘Oh, we want an offensive coach.’ That’s what the Eagles said: ‘We want an offensive coach.’

“Man, the Dolphins could have been sound and secure for a long time if they just went with the best guy to lead their team. Mayo blew people out of the water.”

Mayo secured multiple head coach interviews after failing to get the Eagles job in 2021, but the Patriots made sure that he didn't take the interview with the Carolina Panthers last offseason.

3. He boasts an impressive résumé and work ethic 

Mayo became the new Patriots head coach in a relatively unorthodox matter. After his eight-year playing career ended, Mayo stepped away from football for a few years. He worked in the finance department for Optum and served as a TV analyst for a few years before returning to the Patriots.

During his playing career, Mayo earned a reputation for his strong work ethic. His teammates called him “mini Bill Belichick” or “Jerod Belichick” for his football IQ.

Belichick actually praised Mayo's leadership abilities when he was in his second season as a player, earning rare captain status as a young player.

“He’s the defensive signal-caller and one of our best players and one of our most prepared players and one of our most productive players,” Belichick told reporters at the time. “All that leadership and that role on the team of being in the middle of the defense on every play, run or pass, calling the signals, he’s emerged into the real leader on the defensive side of the ball.”

4. He's already respected by the players

Arguably half the battle in becoming a good head coach is getting your players to buy into your message.

If the social media accounts of Patriots players were any indication, they all seem to love the hire. Players like Jabrill Peppers and Christian Gonzalez heaped praise over the move on social media, while Matthew Judon spoke glowingly of Mayo in an ESPN interview. Several of Mayo's ex-teammates also shared positive reactions to the move on social media as well, such as Jason McCourty and Julian Edelman.

At the very least, the Patriots have a head coach who seems to be a likable guy and someone the players can buy into. And that's probably the biggest reason why Patriots should like this hiring.