Jerod Mayo is preparing for his first NFL season at the helm of the New England Patriots. He’ll be replacing none other than the legendary Bill Belichick, who coached Mayo during his decades-long tenure in Foxborough.
However, it looks like the six-time Super Bowl champion didn’t give much advice to his former player as Mayo prepares for the job Belichick had for 24 years.
In an interview with Kay Adams on “Up & Adams” Monday, Mayo was asked whether Belichick reached out ahead of his new gig in New England, in what will be Mayo’s first experience as head coach.
“That’s a tough question,” Mayo said. “We haven’t had a lot of communication since I’ve been here and honestly, for me, my focus is the players. It’s all about the players. I learned a lot from Bill, I honestly did — X’s and O’s and also structure in practice and things like that. But, like I said, it’s a different era and a different time, and hopefully we can have that same success.”
Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots and inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo talk on the sidelines in the fourth quarter of the game against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on January 09, 2022 in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Even though he bid farewell with a press conference alongside Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Belichick is probably not happy with the way his time in New England came to an end. And it may explain why he hasn’t talked that much with the man who will replace him.
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The history between Belichick and Mayo
Belichick was responsible of Mayo getting selected out of Tennesse by the Patriots with the 10th overall pick in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft. From then on, they forged a great relationship that continued after the linebacker’s retirement.
Mayo spent his entire playing career in Foxborough, playing for the Patriots for eight seasons between 2008 and 2015. Four years after retiring, he joined Belichick’s staff as linebackers coach. Five seasons later, Mayo was promoted to become the franchise’s first head coach after more than two decades on Belichick’s watch.
Even though he’ll try to bring back glory days to Gillette Stadium, Mayo has already warned Patriots fans to have realistic expectations for 2024 as the team has a long way to go to get back to the top.
