Why Ty Law doesn’t think Robert Kraft will fire Jerod Mayo after 1 season
"I think Mr. Kraft is a smart enough businessman to give him time."
Amid a disappointing 3-10 season thus far for the Patriots, could Robert Kraft and New England’s ownership group opt to fire Jerod Mayo after just one season as head coach?
Count Patriots legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Ty Law among those who think Mayo’s job is secure beyond the 2024 season.
Speaking on WEEI Tuesday, Law stressed that Kraft won’t decide to cut ties with his new head coach immediately — given that expectations were likely already tempered going into the 2024 campaign.
“When I think Mr. Kraft went in, of course he wanted better. The expectations were more than what we got,” Law said on “The Greg Hill Show”. “But I think that he didn’t have expectations as far as, like, we’re gonna go to the playoffs or be a Super Bowl contender when he made the hire. You’ve got to give him a chance. … I think Mr. Kraft is a smart enough businessman to give him time. How much time? I don’t know, but he’s definitely secure for next season.”
For Law, Mayo’s tenuous situation with the Patriots should be cast in a similar light as a first-round quarterback undergoing growing pains in his first year in the NFL ranks.
Even though New England’s defense, discipline, and late-game execution have regressed this season under Mayo, Law believes that the Patriots also need to add more talent around a core short on franchise talents beyond Drake Maye and Christian Gonzalez.
“I think the first year — it isn’t a great indication of what he could possibly do until he gets his own guys in there,” Law said. “He has to open up, he gotta back up the Brinks truck, dammit. [Kraft] gotta spend some money.
“So, is he gonna give him something to work with? So I don’t think Jerod is going anywhere, because that wouldn’t be — give somebody one year and don’t let him get his, I mean this is his first year as a head coach. That’s just like if a rookie quarterback doesn’t have a great rookie season, do you get rid of him, or you give him time?”
Law’s comments fall somewhat in line with NFL insider Albert Breer’s sentiment shared on NBC Sports Boston’s Sports Sunday earlier this week.
But while Law believes that Kraft is preaching patience by sticking with Mayo, Breer believes that the optics of Kraft moving on from Mayo — who he said he picked as Bill Belichick’s successor “five years ago” — would be damaging.
“I also think there’s this element of it, and I think this applies to Jerod Mayo too: Sometimes it’s hard for owners to admit they were wrong,” Breer said. “The owners here invested a lot in Jerod Mayo. They invested in him as a player, they invested in him as an assistant coach, they basically kicked the greatest coach of all time out the door to hand the job to Jerod Mayo.
“I saw this in Dallas with Jerry Jones: One one of the reasons he was so reluctant to let go of Jason Garrett is because he viewed Jason Garrett as his creation. I think a similar dynamic exists here. I don’t think Kraft wants to be wrong about Jerod Mayo. For that matter, I don’t think they want to be wrong about Eliot Wolf, either.”
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