Jerod Mayo didn’t do a good job in charge of the New England Patriots.
However, he wasn’t given a winning hand either.
Both things are true.
That’s why Ryan Clark didn’t like how the Patriots handled things with him.
On ESPN, the former NFL player stated that Mayo wasn’t given a fair chance.
"Bill Belichick was 5-11 in his first year, but you found patience. … This is a team that was inherited by Jerod Mayo that only won four games last year."@Realrclark25 thinks the Patriots fired Jerod Mayo prematurely. pic.twitter.com/9jSMxb5eNz
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) January 6, 2025
He pointed out that he inherited this team from Bill Belichick, who didn’t do a good job of assembling and selecting talent for the roster.
Clark added that the Patriots will now be able to add a lot of talent to their roster in the offseason, but Mayo won’t get an opportunity to show what he can do with a different squad.
That’s right on point.
This team’s debacle started with Belichick, and he should continue to be held accountable because of that.
Then again, as much as Mayo didn’t get much of a chance to turn things around, he didn’t show any signs to prove that he was even slightly ready to be a head coach.
His questionable statements, poor decision-making, subpar timeout and clock management, and overall bad job didn’t have anything to do with the roster he had.
We’ve seen first-year coaches struggle but do things the right way, and that wasn’t the case.
Furthermore, with someone like Mike Vrabel available for hire, doubling down on Mayo in hopes that he could eventually become a good head coach seemed like a risk that was just not worth taking.
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