The New England Patriots’ handling of Jerod Mayo’s firing and the aftermath has done little to inspire confidence in the NFL’s hiring practices or the ownership’s decision-making.
For decades, Robert Kraft had been celebrated as a model owner during the Patriots dynasty. That reputation — deserved or not — has persisted even as the team transitions into a post-Bill Belichick and post-Tom Brady era in Foxborough.
However, the goodwill doesn’t seem to extend to how the Patriots managed Mayo’s dismissal or their attempts to replace the former linebacker (2008-15). And it’s seen those like Rob Gronkowski and Logan Ryan, now media members, take aim at their former team’s decision making.
Ryan, a guest on the Awful Announcing Podcast this week, called Mayo “one of the smartest players I’ve ever played with” before informing host Brandon Contes that he was “not a fan” of the move to fire Mayo.
“You look at a lot of coaches in their first year, his record wasn’t good — a lot of them weren’t good,” the CBS Sports NFL analyst said. “And, he wasn’t allowed to have a good year… The Patriots were not going to have a good year based on [their] roster and they weren’t spending a lot of money to save up money here.
“I think Mr. Kraft apologized to him in the press conference after the firing, but I’m not a fan of it. I’m a fan of Jerod’s. I thought he should’ve been given another year. Definitely a lot of us [former] players — you saw Gronk was ’bout to say a lot on Fox there. So, I think a lot of us felt the same. It kind of felt like, why pick him if that’s the situation he got? He didn’t get another year to right that wrong.”
Ryan theorized that perhaps his former team “had something up their sleeve,” hinting at the obvious elephant in the room.
“I think Mr. Kraft’s a smart person and might have a [Mike] Vrabel in his sleeve,” added Ryan. “Still, for the fact of Jerod’s case, I’m not a fan of that and definitely support Jerod.”
And as the Patriots have set their sights on Vrabel and Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, the way they’ve handled — or “blatantly sidestepped” the Rooney Rule has been called into question by two respected NFL reporters: Jordan Schultz and Albert Breer.
The Patriots may be aiming for a quick fix with high-profile candidates, but in doing so, they risk alienating former players who are rallying behind Mayo. That’s not to say Ryan wouldn’t support someone like Vrabel — whom he played under in Tennessee and has praised extensively publicly.
However, the perception from former players like Ryan and Gronkowski is Mayo deserved more than just a one-year trial — he deserved a fair shot.
And if you were going to fire him after one season anyway, Vrabel was available last offseason.
Listen to the full episode of the Awful Announcing Podcast featuring Logan Ryan beginning Friday, Jan. 10. Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. For more content, subscribe to AA’s YouTube page.
