It is officially Black Monday today for the 2024-25 season – the day when teams press the reset button and let go of their underperforming coaches. Just like the previous season, the current season has not been kind to the NFL coaches as well. After a disappointing season in 2024, the New England Patriots have just fired their new head coach, Jerod Mayo. Given the poor season the Pats had, Mayo’s firing does not come as a shocker. However, the news caught former Pats player Rob Gronkowski off guard.

While talking to Michael Strahan and the rest of the Fox crew, Rob said, ” I was shocked by that and to happen that soon was a shocker to a lot of people especially here at the desk. We were all surprised by that. I think it was unfair to coach Jerod Mayo. I mean he had never had the chance to develop as a head coach.” Gronkowski was about to continue voicing his opinion on the matter, but Michael Strahan cut in, saying, “Hey, we gotta go to break.”

What Rob was about to say only he could reveal but it was clear he did not sound pleased with the Pats’ ownership before Strahan interrupetd. It has been almost a year since Bill Belichick left them, but the Pats find themselves in the same hole. Rob lent his support to Mayo who did not get enough chance to prove his worth. Notably, Belichick also failed big time in his 1st season in Boston before leading the same pack to the Super Bowl the very next season.

The Pats have been struggling for a few years now. Honestly, after Tom Brady left, nothing clicked for them. Now, with the new season ahead, the Pats CEO, Robert Kraft has a lot to work on.

Rob Gronkowski expresses his disappointment over Robert Kraft’s decision

Rob who himself has been a Pats legend, expressing his disappointment over Jerod Mayo’s firing, said, “He was just a rookie himself in that department and if you judge a coach by their first year, that’s really not appropriate. I mean, Jimmy Johnson, you went 1-15 your first year and then you won a couple of Super Bowls after that.” Well, Rob did have a point there. It was Mayo’s first season as the HC, and that too with a rookie QB.

After the week 18 game, which was a win over the Bills, Robert Kraft gave the HC the bad news. “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. For me, personally, this was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made,” said Kraft. Ah! This must have stung Mayo a lot. Now that Mayo’s out of the picture, the talk of the town is that the top candidate for the Pats’ new HC position is Mike Vrabel. The 49-year-old has played for the Pats before and is currently looking for a head coaching gig. On Friday, he even interviewed for the Jets’ HC position as well. 

The Pats aren’t the only ones pursuing Vrabel. The Bears, also on the hunt for a new HC, are reportedly eyeing the former Pats player as well. It looks like Mike has plenty of options to choose from. It’ll be interesting to see where he lands this season, and who the Pats will go with if he decides not to join them.