Replacing the most successful coach in your franchise’s history was never going to be easy. But Robert Kraft had the right idea as he picked Jerod Mayo for the role that Bill Belichick made his own for 24 years. Mayo has, of course, spent his entire professional career under Belichick, first as a player and then as an assistant. But did the move come early for the 15th HC in New England Patriots history?

Belichick registered 333 wins and delivered six Super Bowls- an NFL record during his stint with the Patriots and thus left big shoes to fill at Foxborough. Backed by Belichick himself, Mayo, having been in the coaching role at the franchise since 2019, seemed like an appropriate choice. His swift ascension, 24 hours after Belichick stepped down, suggested a plan was already in place by Kraft. However, according to analyst Mike Felger, this wasn’t the original idea.

Judging by the situation, Jerod Mayo has an uphill battle to fight with inexperienced quarterbacks and a shabby roster altogether. The hosts of 98.5 The Sports Hub think that he is going to need a lot of handholding and this is not a good situation to be in for the first-time HC.

Felger said, “When they promised Jerod Mayo the job before last year, you know what they thought. They thought that Mac Jones was going to come back and be a good quarterback and a good player because Billy O’Brien was here. So, they thought that they would be a good team, that Bill Belichick would be closing in on Shula’s record, they would have whatever, a representative season. 10 wins, 9 wins, 11 wins somewhere in there was what I bet they were thinking was sort of like a baseline that would put Bill Belichick halfway to Don Shula.”

Safe to say that the Patriots’ plan didn’t work out. It was a disastrous 4-13 season and one that saw a benching game between Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe. Jones, a 2021 first-round draft pick, was brought in to fill Tom Brady’s huge shoes but didn’t hit the heights expected of him.

Things became even worse when the Patriots let go of offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who had a great bond with Mac Jones and was helping him develop. Matt Patricia and Bill O’Brien stepped in as Asst. Head Coach and Offensive Coordinators respectively, but Jones went to the bench for the final six contests of New England’s 2023 season and was eventually traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars in March this year.

Felger further added, “Mac Jones would have been resurrected under Bill O’Brien, that means Bill Belichick coaches this upcoming season (2024), he sets the record, Mac Jones is solidified as the franchise quarterback. Things get even a little bit better and now Jerod Mayo steps into a ready-made situation with a team that has a foundation and is on the ascent.” Instead of a healthy situation, Mayo inherited a team without a franchise quarterback, or any offensive playmakers and had no players going to the Pro Bowl for the first time since 2000.

Had Belichick stayed, it is likely that he could have come further closer to Don Shula’s NFL win record of 347 wins or even surpassed it. Further, it would have meant one more season for Mayo to learn and for Kraft to put things in place to ensure a better footing when the new HC stepped in.

On the show, analyst Joe Murray also mentioned that having Jacoby Brissett and Bailey Zappe as their QB straight up “sucks”, and that the Patriots are going to be the “worst team in the NFL” this year.

After the Patriots’ dismal season ended on January 7 this year, Belichick was defiant and said that he was still under a contract with the franchise. Three days later, he announced his decision to leave. This hints at a not-so-amicable relationship between Kraft and Belichick during their final years. Did this force Kraft’s hand and had him move Mayo early into the role? This could be the case since it made little sense not to give your franchise’s most successful coach the chance to go out on his terms with one year remaining on his contract.

But the Patriots’ form in recent years could be another reason. Since Tom Brady left in 2020, the Pats have only made it to the postseason once in 2021. Over their last 25 games, the Pats are 7-18. Only the Arizona Cardinals (5-20) have been worse.

In January, Jerod Mayo was given an important and perhaps hard task to restore the Patriots. Mike Felger and Co. don’t think that it’s possible.

Mike Felger on how the New England Patriots botched their Cinderella Story

A former player who served his franchise admirably and then had his career cut short due to an injury being appointed as the team’s HC is a neat story. But the task is harder than ever. In his first head coaching gig, he’s been asked to help Jacoby Brissett as their starting QB. Brissett has had a turbulent NFL career and his season best came in 2017 when he put up 3,098 yards and 13 touchdowns. Now, a rookie head coach is being asked to help bump those numbers up.

He has an additional job of preparing the third overall pick, Drake Maye, to possibly become a franchise quarterback someday. It just feels like Jerod Mayo has a lot on his plate right now. If Belichick was still the head coach of the Patriots, the clock wouldn’t have been ticking as fast for Mayo and there would have been less pressure.

“Jerod Mayo is here in a situation that they did not intend for this to be his entry into head coaching. Because this isn’t the guy you hire for this situation,” said Felger and added later that “Drake Maye is their only chance this year to be interesting. He’s got to just be legit right out of the shoot and the odds are against that.”

To add to the woes, the Patriots don’t even have a decent roster. Talking about the receiver core, they have Kendrick Bourne, the second-year WR Demario Douglas, and the rookie Ja’Lynn Polk as their starting WRs, which also doesn’t look good or playoff-worthy in the same places.

Still, Mayo has gone out to stamp his authority on the team. Under Belichick, the Patriots’ assistant coaches were rarely given titles for the roles they carried out, but with Mayo, it is different. In January after his appointment, he told WBZ-TV’s Steve Burton, “I do believe in titles. I think it’s more external than internal. When I went on some of those interviews a couple of years ago, they asked, ‘What exactly do you do?’ You were trying to explain what you do when one word, ‘defensive’ coordinator or ‘offensive’ coordinator, they know. I just want to clean up the ambiguity or the cloudiness around who is doing what.”

This might be a fairy tale that started with a wholesome note, with Mayo becoming a young head coach of a reformed team, but the ending might turn out to be unsavory for the Patriots.

How do you think the future will pan out for the Patriots? Let us know in the comments below.