‘There’s a lot of excitement’: What Matthew Judon said of the Patriots’ decision to hire Jerod Mayo
Judon is just one of many Patriots players to express excitement over Mayo's promotion.
The Patriots’ decision to almost instantly promote Jerod Mayo to succeed Bill Belichick received just about unanimous praise from Patriots players of past and present.
New England’s top player joined the chorus late Friday. Matthew Judon shared his excitement over Mayo’s promotion in an interview with ESPN’s “NFL Live,” revealing that Patriots players were also expressing joy behind the scenes.
“A lot of people, since the season’s been over, we’ve been out of town, but we were on text threads and stuff, talking,” Judon said. “I think there’s a lot of excitement for a guy like Mayo to get that job and to see what he can do in the lead position and actually run his own ship.”
Judon has gotten to know Mayo, who was previously the Patriots’ linebackers coach, well over the last few years. He signed as a free agent with the Patriots ahead of the 2021 season, marking three full seasons that the two have been together.
Of course, prior to rejoining the Patriots as a linebackers coach in 2019, Mayo was a standout linebacker for the team for eight seasons. Judon believes that Mayo’s playing career, plus the occupations he held outside of football for a few years, will help him become an effective head coach.
“Just from being a former player to a coach to [having] a business background, he left the game for a little bit but it called him back,” Judon said. “That’s homegrown talent in a coach. I think we’re really excited to see what he can do this upcoming season and actually get to learn from him and get to see the game how he actually wants to portray it.”
Even though he was already a two-time Pro Bowler prior to joining the Patriots, Judon has had the two most productive seasons of his eight-year career in New England. He recorded 28 total sacks over his first two seasons with the Patriots and had four in 2023 before he suffered a season-ending bicep injury in Week 4.
But Judon said that the biggest areas that Mayo helped him grow the most individually were as a person.
“Not from coaching, but challenging me as a player, leader, and as a gamechanger,” Judon said when how Mayo’s helped him grow individually. “He challenges you outside the locker room to be a better man on and off the field. I think that’s one thing that helps. From him just knowing the game, just being a part of the game for so long, and just the success that he had also helps as well. He’s seen it from on the field and he’s seen it off the field, the success. But he also knows the setbacks that comes with the game, like injuries.”
Mayo will have the tough task of trying to succeed a six-time Super Bowl winner, whom Judon also showed great appreciation for. Late Friday, Judon posted on Instagram a pair of pictures of him with Belichick along with an image of a goat, writing “Spot the difference.”
But Judon continued to emphasize Mayo’s leadership abilities in his interview with ESPN, believing that the Patriots’ new coach has the ability to bring players of all backgrounds together.
“[Mayo knows] that regardless of age, people still have a lot in the tank while knowing how to bring the young guys up to speed as fast as the older guys so you can all see one vision,” Judon said. “I think that’s one thing he loves to say, he’ll be like, ‘I don’t care if I’m right or you’re right. I want us to see the same picture.'”
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