Robert Kraft has reportedly given private assurances that Jerod Mayo will be Patriots’ head coach in 2025
Kraft has yet to publicly comment on Mayo's job status for the 2025 season after a 3-10 start in his first season.
Robert Kraft isn’t looking to end the Jerod Mayo experiment after Year 1.
The Patriots owner has given assurances to people close to him and the organization that Mayo will remain the team’s head coach after the 2024 season, The Athletic‘s Dianna Russini reported Saturday.
As of Saturday, Kraft has yet to make a public comment about Mayo’s status for the 2025 season amid the team’s underwhelming 3-10 year. That silence and New England’s recent three-game losing streak, along with Drake Maye’s promising play, has led to some speculation about whether the team might consider moving on from Mayo sooner than expected.
However, Kraft believes Mayo should get more time in order to establish himself, according to Russini.
“The organization understood from the start that this wouldn’t be seamless,” Russini wrote in her Saturday notes column. “Transitioning into a high-pressure role like this, especially following the legendary [Bill] Belichick, comes with a steep learning curve, and mistakes were expected. The Krafts want to allow Mayo the opportunity to find his voice, establish his footing, and develop into the leader they believe he can be. The franchise knows they have their quarterback in Drake Maye, and his coach will be given a runway.”
While the Patriots have had an underwhelming season, Mayo took over a New England team that was far from stellar under Belichick’s coaching last season. The Patriots went 4-13 in 2023, ranking 30th in yards and tied for last in scoring.
Even though Maye has given them improved play at quarterback, it’s arguable that the Patriots have taken a step back on the field this season. New England remains toward the bottom of the league in offensive stats, ranking 31st in yards and points per game. But their defense has noticeably struggled, falling to 20th in yards allowed, 21st in scoring, and 31st in defensive DVOA. It ranked seventh, 15th, and ninth in those three stats last season.
But the Patriots didn’t make any major changes to their roster following their lackluster 2023 campaign, opting to re-sign many of their own free agents with the cap space they had before drafting Maye with the third overall pick. That’s why one unnamed NFL source told NFL insider Josina Anderson that they’d find it hard to believe Mayo would be gone after one season.
“There was never any consideration to this,” the unnamed source told Anderson on Saturday. “The Lions started 3-13 the first year under Dan Campbell, then started 1-6 the next and people were calling for his head. Plus, what was going on before Mayo became head coach too? Patience is a virtue.”
If the Patriots are hoping Mayo follows a similar path as Campbell, these next few games might be vital in proving that. After starting 0-10-1 in Campbell’s first season in 2021, Detroit won three of its final six games that year. One of those wins was a closely contested battle against a Packers squad that only played Aaron Rodgers for half of that game in Week 18.
But the second of those three wins for Campbell’s squad was a 30-12 blowout over a Cardinals team that was 10-3 at the time and looking to win the NFC West. That win seemingly helped Campbell establish his culture in Detroit.
The Patriots will have a similar opportunity to play spoiler in the final four weeks of the season. They could further diminish the Cardinals’ playoff hopes on Sunday. A win over the Chargers in Week 17 could bump Los Angeles out of the playoff picture depending on how the next few weeks go. They also get two cracks at the Bills, and an upset win in either of those games would likely kill Buffalo’s chances of getting the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
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