Patriots 2023 Season

[Vermont Green]

Pats hire Mayo.

Adam Schefter
@AdamSchefter

It’s a new era in New England: the Patriots have hired Jerod Mayo as their next head coach and he will be formally introduced at a press conference next week, a source tells ESPN.

I think that makes the GM job in NE a bit less desirable. Not because Mayo won't make a good head coach, but because hiring a coach without consulting your GM gives them some power over the head coach.

Maybe that's what Kraft wants, though, since in football the coach sets the direction of the team more than in some other sports. It'll be interesting to see who they bring in and what direction the team takes in this draft

I am concerned about a new GM.   I know, everyone thinks Belichick was the worst GM ever, and that those 6 titles had nothing to do with the teams that he built, is was just Tom Brady, but my concern is that a new GM comes in and wants to make a splash.  Brings in flashy players over continuing to build the infrastructure of the team.  And is Mayo going to be the guy that can make it all work?

[johnnygreen]

I don’t hate the Mayo hiring. I know some people wanted someone with no ties to the organization, or Mike Vrable, which I get. However, Mayo has been putting in the time and working his way up in the organization. The side of the ball he has been coaching the last several years has been outstanding. He got head coach consideration from several organizations in recent years. He earned this opportunity IMO. Welcome Mayo! Look forward to seeing what you can do!

His coaching experience is being a linebackers coach for the Patriots since 2019. I'm sorry, but that's hardly a resume worthy of being named a head coach. As history has told us, getting coaching experience under Belichick does not lead to head coaching success. Also, was he getting interviews with strong consideration, or was it simply so teams complied with the Rooney rule?

How will this effect the GM hiring search? If a candidate doesn't think Mayo is qualified to be a head coach at this time, do they not even take an interview with the Patriots.

I like Mayo, but I would have went outside the Belichick tree, as this team needs a face-lift. I know Mayo was already contractually signed to be the head coach (since last season?), but it's not off to a good start in the post Belichick era. One image I can't get out of my head, is the various times Mayo was on the sidelines and isolated from everyone.

[BitterJim]

Pats hire Mayo.

Adam Schefter
@AdamSchefter

It’s a new era in New England: the Patriots have hired Jerod Mayo as their next head coach and he will be formally introduced at a press conference next week, a source tells ESPN.

I think that makes the GM job in NE a bit less desirable. Not because Mayo won't make a good head coach, but because hiring a coach without consulting your GM gives them some power over the head coach.

Maybe that's what Kraft wants, though, since in football the coach sets the direction of the team more than in some other sports. It'll be interesting to see who they bring in and what direction the team takes in this draft

I am concerned about a new GM.   I know, everyone thinks Belichick was the worst GM ever, and that those 6 titles had nothing to do with the teams that he built, is was just Tom Brady, but my concern is that a new GM comes in and wants to make a splash.  Brings is flashy players over continuing to build the infrastructure of the team.  And is Mayo going to be the guy that can make it all work?

My other concern is that whoever we bring in will focus on improving the team quickly, possibly at the expense of building a sustainable/contending team. And with Kraft sort of setting a precedent (if you miss the playoffs 3 years in a row, or the team is really bad for a year, there's nothing that will let you keep the job)... I wouldn't really blame them for thinking that way.

[johnnygreen]

The new GM may want guarantees that if Mayo doesn't work out, that they won't be held responsible. Also, if the team doesn't respond to Mayo, does the GM have authority to let Mayo go and hire a new head coach, before Mayo's contract expires.

[Neurotic Guy]

I think the GM position would be attractive.  A 4-13 team with the 3rd pick in the draft along with lots of room to spend. GMs at this level are confident people who believe they know how to build a team. I think Mayo has a reputation of being a good guy and a smart guy - someone good to work with. If the money is good I think any GM prospect would be interested.

[Vermont Green]

I think the GM position would be attractive.  A 4-13 team with the 3rd pick in the draft along with lots of room to spend. GMs at this level are confident people who believe they know how to build a team. I think Mayo has a reputation of being a good guy and a smart guy - someone good to work with. If the money is good I think any GM prospect would be interested.

I agree with this.  First, I think the team is better than the 4-13 record would imply.  The OL was not strong to start and then had more than usual injuries.  I think the OL can be fixed though, relatively quickly, with FAs and Draft Picks, assuming Andrews is back. 

We will need to bring in some receivers too of course.  Receivers are probably best addressed through FA if you want immediate impact, but I am sure we will use some picks on receivers too.  Maybe Mayo can get through to Boutte.  I don't think you need the best receivers in the league.  With a good QB and a good OL, you can win with just good solid receivers.

Of course the OL and the WRs won't matter if we don't solve the QB issue.  These aren't independent though.  The OL helps the QB, the QB helps the receivers.  Finding a QB is a problem for all teams.  I don't mind using the high pick on a QB but there is about a 50% chance that the pick will be a bust.  I would rather focus on shoring up the OL and WR corps, maybe bring in a Vet like Wilson, and then hope you get lucky along the way with QB.  KC, BUF, SF, DAL, many of the top teams kind of lucked into their QBs.  They weren't top picks.

But all the GM candidates will have the self-confidence to believe that they will pick the right QB.  They will sign the right receivers, they will put the OL back together.  Maybe they will.  If they do, this is a playoff team, at least in terms of personnel.  A candidate GM may not be confident in Mayo though.

[SparzWizard]

If this new GM we hire does not see success in Year 1, Mayo is out the door.

Don't like the Mayo announcement. Similar to the Joe Mazzulla being  named head coach so soon. We need someone with a fresh mind, not from a Belichick tree. I would think the owner would hire the GM first to make the decisions.

At least if the team fails, the coach goes first before the GM.

[Vermont Green]

If this new GM we hire does not see success in Year 1, Mayo is out the door.

Don't like the Mayo announcement. Similar to the Joe Mazzulla being  named head coach so soon. We need someone with a fresh mind, not from a Belichick tree. I would think the owner would hire the GM first to make the decisions.

At least if the team fails, the coach goes first before the GM.

I don't know if Mayo will turn out to be a good coach or not but this is not like the situation when the Celtics hired Mazzulla.  The Patriots have time if they want to take it.  The season just ended.  With the Celtics, the whole scandal came out near the end of the off season.  They had no time at all to do a coach search.

Mayo is the coach because it appears that the Krafts believe he is going to be a good coach.  If the Krafts wanted to throw out all the coaches, they would have started with a completely new head coach and then let him hire all the assistants.  Naming Mayo the head coach to me signifies a desire for continuity.

It will be interesting to see how these assistants feel about working for Mayo over Belichick.  I think that was an issue the first season for Mazzulla.  The assistants weren't bought in.  Some left.  Others didn't seem to have a full commitment to Mazzulla.  Is O'Brien going to buy into working for Mayo for example?  Very different than working for Belichick.

[Phantom255x]

WELP.  Adam Peters hired by the Commanders already

One GM off the list.

[keevsnick]

Its a little weird to hire the head coach before the GM, but I like the Mayo hire. He played under Bill, got some coaching experience under Bill and knows the organization and players better than any other candidate. He's a young guy coaching wise which hopefully gives the team a good burst of energy, they've felt stagnant the lats few years.

Any coach without Head Coaching experience is a gamble, but I think this is a good one.

[Csfan1984]

Really wanted and offense experienced head coach.

[johnnygreen]

Really wanted and offense experienced head coach.

We got someone far better. A linebackers coach from the ever reliable Belichick coaching tree.

[johnnygreen]

I really hope Mayo does well, and wish him the best. However, with the wealth of free agent head coaches available, I would have preferred the team hire the best candidate for the job, that also had no ties to the prior coaching staff. A staff btw that was fulled with turmoil.

[Goldstar88]

Sounds like Josh McDaniels has been around Foxboro quite a bit of late. He was at the Jets game and also at Bill and Bobs press conference the other day…

[Phantom255x]

AJ Brown apparently hasn't practiced this week and seems to have deactivated a lot of his social media + removed all tags with Eagles on them. If he's available, Pats need to do the right thing and get their guy they missed on in 2019 for N'Keal Harry (VOMIT).

AJ Brown said he even wanted to come to NE and cried when they didn't take him (true story)