There will come a day when Bill Belichick isn’t the head coach for the New England Patriots, and as of right now, the man that appears to have his foot in the door of supplanting the greatest coach in NFL history is inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo.
All of the signs are already there.
Mayo turned down both a head coaching and defensive coordinator interview to stay with a Patriots team working towards a long-term deal to keep him in New England.
Belichick was the one that selected Mayo with the No. 10 overall pick of the 2008 NFL draft, and he has been by the legendary coach’s side ever since, taking in things and learning as both a player and coach.
However, there has been another development that likely hammers home the belief that Mayo will be the next in command behind Belichick next season. According to NFL reporter Albert Breer, Mayo sat in with Belichick during their video conference interviews with their five offensive coordinator candidates.
Interesting nugget for you—Patriots LBs coach Jerod Mayo was alongside Bill Belichick for all of New England's offensive coordinator interviews last week, per sources. Good sign of Mayo's growing role with the team.
The team met with its five OC candidates over videoconference.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 22, 2023
The fact that Mayo is being brought in the hiring process of the next offensive coordinator speaks highly of his new role with the Patriots.
It wouldn’t be a surprise at this point to see his title bumped to assistant head coach with the thought in mind that he could be the head coach in waiting behind Belichick.
As of right now, all of the breadcrumbs seem to lead down that road.
