What Jerod Mayo’s status as first black Patriots head coach means to him and Robert Kraft
Mayo is the first black head coach in Patriots history. Here's what makes the hire significant in his words and Kraft's.
FOXBOROUGH – The Patriots announced on Wednesday that Jerod Mayo has officially become the franchise’s 15th head coach. He is also the first black head coach in franchise history.
It’s a historic moment for the organization, which was founded in 1960. After moving on from Bill Belichick, who was the oldest coach in the NFL at the time of his departure, New England turned to Mayo, who is the youngest coach in the league.
Here’s what Mayo and team owner Robert Kraft said about the significance of the hiring.
Mayo on diversity, equity, and inclusion: “I learned a lot at Optum about diversity and inclusion. You better believe that being the first black head coach here in New England means a lot to me, but those guys taught me that you have to take people – black, white, green, yellow, it really doesn’t matter. Old, young.”
Kraft on why he hired Mayo: “Football is Jerod’s true passion. I believe coaching was always his destiny. His credentials garner respect, and he relates beautifully to the players. He has been on the coaching staff now for five seasons, and each year his role has grown on the defense, which has now been ranked in the top 10 in the league in the four seasons he has coached them. His dedication, strategic acumen, and ability to inspire players have been evident.
“On the field, Jerod is a man of faith, has a good heart, and he’s often described as a leader of men, something I have been proud to witness firsthand. While I’ve known Jerod for nearly 16 years, the week we spent together in the Holy Land in 2019 really helped strengthen my convictions about how special Jerod is as a person and how capable I thought he would be as a head coach in this league. There have been many moments in my life that other people couldn’t understand, but it was the right decision for me.”
Mayo on building a collaborative environment: “One thing you’ll notice about me in our interaction as we continue to go is that I don’t like echo chambers. I want people around me that are going to question my ideas or question the way we have done things in the past because realistically this game is a lot different than when I was drafted in 2008.
“At the same time, that’s why I try to spend so much time developing young men and young women. I don’t want to teach them what to think, I want to teach them how to think. And once we get to that point I think we’ll get back to where we need to be at the top.”
Kraft on the significance of hiring a black head coach: “I’m really colorblind in terms of I know what I feel like on Sunday when we lose. I can just tell you that after my family, my passion is with the New England Patriots and there’s something that’s a very close second, but winning at the Patriots is my passion.
“So, I want to get the best people I can get. I chose the best head coach for this organization. He happens to be a man of color. I chose him because I believe he’s best to do the job.”
Mayo on the concept of colorblindness: “You want your locker room to be pretty diverse. You want the world to look like that. What I will say is: I do see color, because I believe if you don’t see color you can’t see racism. Whatever happens, black, white, even someone with disabilities, I’ve always for the most part said when they’re young people are like don’t – when they’re young they kind of make the spot hot, younger people know what that means.
“I want you to be able to go up to those people and really understand those people. So it goes back to whatever it is -black, white, yellow, it really doesn’t matter. But it does matter so we can try to fix the problem we have.”
Mayo on whether he’s reached out to other black NFL head coaches: “Mike [Tomlin], he reached out. He’s actually from our hometown back in Virginia. We haven’t really talked about the challenges. I appreciate [Kraft] the organization for selecting me to be a black head coach.”
Mayo on Robert Kraft mispronouncing one of his relative’s names during the press conference: “Nah, that’s alright. That’s one of those black names. I’ll help you with that.”
Kraft on why he stuck with his plan to hire Mayo, which was written into Mayo’s previous contract: “I had that same conviction when I hired Bill Belichick, a decision that many questioned at the time, and told me I was making a major error. I have done that with business decisions throughout my career, and with Jerod, I knew while observing him in Israel, he was the right person to be the next head coach of the New England Patriots. That decision has only strengthened as I’ve observed him over the last five years.”
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