The New England Patriots shook their defensive staff up for the 2019 season. First, play-caller Brian Flores left for a head coaching job, then his replacement, Greg Schiano came and went. After, Jerod Mayo, a former eight-year linebacker with the Pats signed on to coach linebackers and call plays (so far — in training camp). The 33-year-old could be playing right now but chose to take the X's and O's route after not playing since 2015.
His former teammate Dont'a Hightower talked about the new coach, as he said, according to NFL Network's Mike Giardi;
He's really the same. It's great to have him leading the meetings and being able to talk. You know, some coaches, it's easy for them to say X's and O's, but they don't really understand what you actually see. With him, he has a different perspective and he's able to give us a lot of knowledge.
New Patriots edge rusher, also 33 years old, joked about having Mayo on the staff, saying,
I told Jerod that I'm not listening to him because we're the same age. It's nice to have a young guy who knows the plays, who lived the defense, and he just knows. You trust the way that he plays because he played in the game and you know he knows the call. He was the leader before, so to have him in the huddle every single time, you can't let him down because he's been in the game.
While Bill Belichick has the final say in New England — considering that he's Bill Belichick — Mayo has earned rave reviews in camp as a first-time head coach.
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