Patriots fire Mayo after 1st season

The New England Patriots have fired head coach Jerod Mayo after one season with the team, the team announced Sunday.

"After the game today, I informed Jerod Mayo that he will not be returning as the head coach of the New England Patriots in 2025," owner Robert Kraft said in a statement. "When other teams started requesting to interview him, I feared I would lose him and committed to making him our next head coach. ... Unfortunately, the trajectory of our team's performances throughout the season did not ascend as I had hoped."

The Patriots beat the Buffalo Bills 23-16 on Sunday, finishing the season 4-13. Kraft hand-picked Mayo as Bill Belichick's successor after Belichick and the organization mutually parted ways in January 2023. Mayo previously spent five campaigns as the team's inside linebackers coach. The 38-year-old also played his entire career in New England, earning two Pro Bowl nods and winning one Super Bowl ring as a linebacker.

The rest of the Patriots' front office currently remains unchanged. They also haven't released any of Mayo's assistant coaches.

Mike Vrabel is reportedly interested in the Patriots' coaching position, according to The Athletic's Jeff Howe. Vrabel was the head coach for the Tennessee Titans for six campaigns before being dismissed in January 2024. He was a coaching and personnel consultant for the Cleveland Browns this season.

Kraft said last year that he was confident the Patriots landed the right coach in Mayo despite not launching a coaching search.

"I have that same conviction when I hired Bill Belichick, a decision that many questioned at the time and told me I was making a major error," the longtime Patriots owner said.

New England is projected to have over $130 million in cap space this offseason, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The Patriots also hold a top-four pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.