Why Adam Schefter thinks Patriots replacing Jerod Mayo with Mike Vrabel is ‘moot point’
"I think the Krafts have been pretty clear that they have not been planning a change."
As speculation continues to swirl around Jerod Mayo’s job security in Foxborough, Mike Vrabel is becoming a popular figure for Patriots fans yearning for a new head coach in 2025.
The three-time Super Bowl champion and former Titans head coach is expected to be a hot commodity during the NFL’s latest coaching carousel in January.
But even if New England might be intrigued by Vrabel’s ability to elevate a regressing defense in 2024, longtime NFL insider Adam Schefter doesn’t believe that Robert Kraft and the Patriots’ ownership group are going to move on from Mayo after just one year on the job.
“I think this year that basically just about every team with an opening will have some level of interest in Mike Vrabel,” Schefter said Wednesday during his weekly appearance on WEEI’s “Afternoon Show”. “That’s what I believe will be the case. I think him and [Lions offensive coordinator] Ben Johnson will be the belles of the ball, so to speak.
“All we can go by with New England is, I think the Krafts have been pretty clear that they have not been planning a change, they don’t want to make a change, they’re not looking to make a change. So, it’s moot with Mike Vrabel and New England right now… unless it’s not.”
Schefter’s sentiment about a shifting perception regarding Mayo’s job security comes after an eventful weekend where The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported that Kraft had privately assured Mayo that he’d remain head coach in New England for the 2025 season.
But just a day after Russini’s report, Mayo and the Patriots put together an uncompetitive performance coming off the bye week against the Cardinals — with Mayo’s postgame comments that seemingly threw offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt under the bus creating more distractions.
There have been plenty of growing pains for Mayo this season, be it on the field with New England’s struggles in execution, fundamentals, and discipline — or off-the-field slip-ups courtesy of his postgame remarks.
But Schefter believes that even with the current state of the Patriots’ franchise, things would have to get much worse over these final three weeks of the 2024 season to warrant a head-coaching change in Foxborough.
“To me, New England would have to fall apart down the stretch, have more poor showings like the one it did on Sunday, and there would have to be a change in the thinking of ownership to even introduce that to being a factor,” Schefter said.
“Do I think that, if the job were open, [Vrabel] would [be interested]? It’s certainly logical to assume that. I mean, he’s played there, he knows the organization, knows the city. Yeah, I can totally see that. But it’s a moot point right now.”
Of course, there are several scenarios in which New England’s miserable 2024 season could plummet further — be it three blowout losses to the Bills and Chargers, or more off-the-field distractions courtesy of Mayo.
But even if Schefter believes that things can always change when it comes to an ownership group’s stance on a coaching staff, Kraft’s commitment to Mayo is not expected to waiver amid what was expected to be a rebuilding year.
“Here’s the thing: there are always ownership groups that always say, ‘We’re not doing something,’ and then the final month of the season unravels and doesn’t go well. We’ll see how that goes, but there are always people that change their minds,” Schefter said. “Again, I want to be very clear: I think the Krafts have stood firmly behind Jerod Mayo, and I think that they have been very clear in their intention to stick with him and give him a chance to grow into that job.
“So again, what would have to change? I don’t know how you define it, but I think your eyes kind of know it when you see it. There are things that happen and situations that unfold and all of a sudden, ownership then doesn’t support you quite as much. But I really don’t think they’re there right now.”
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