The New England Patriots made a fascinating head coach decision after letting Bill Belichick go during the offseason. With ex-Patriots player Mike Vrabel available, there were a sizable amount of players that were intrigued with the Vrabel-Pats reunion. However, Robert Kraft decided otherwise, hiring Belichick's assistant coach and linebackers coach Jerod Mayo as their new coach.
What was the rationale behind Robert Kraft taking Jerod Mayo over Mike Vrabel (or any other candidate, for that matter)? Well, it apparently comes down to the same reason Kraft hired Belichick himself, per Albert Breer. The Patriots owner has been vocal about seeing Belichick as an excellent head coach, but refused to hire him initially due to tensions with the outgoing coach Bill Parcells.
“The reason? Well, it actually relates back to the hire of Belichick. Kraft is fond of telling the story of when Belichick was one of Bill Parcells’s assistants in New England in 1996, and how he became enthralled with the coach’s command over the salary cap and team building—and considered hiring him (as Patriots coach) after Parcells left.
The problem at the time was that things ran so hot with Parcells that Kraft saw hiring one of his right-hand men as impractical at the time. He’s told people since he immediately regretted not following his instincts on that one and made up for it three years later by hiring Belichick.”
The move to hire Belichick was an inspired one, as it led to arguably the greatest dynasty in NFL history. Belichick's defensive genius was the perfect complement to Tom Brady's offensive excellence. Together, the duo led the Patriots to six Super Bowl wins from 2000 – 2019, and plenty of appearances in the grand stage. Mayo was part of that defense as both a player and a coach, and he's had plenty of time to learn from the guru.
The track record for Bill Belichick assistants-turned-head coaches is less-than-stellar. Joe Judge, Matt Patricia, Bill O'Brien, and Josh McDaniels all had terrible stints for their teams. However, this might be different, as the Patriots are essentially hiring from within. Either way, Kraft is determined to not make the same mistake he did before with the decision to forego hiring Belichick initially.
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