Here’s Biggest Question Facing Jerod Mayo As Head Coach Interest Rises

There seems to be a consensus around the NFL that Jerod Mayo will, at some point, be a head coach in the league.

Could that be this offseason? Perhaps.

Mayo reportedly made a great impression last year on the Philadelphia Eagles in his interview for the role, which they eventually gave to Nick Sirianni. Always a highly-regarded leader during his playing days, Mayo’s done nothing but draw rave reviews as the New England Patriots’ inside linebackers coach.

But this is only Mayo’s third season as a coach, all of which has been spent coaching inside linebackers. So, while there’s hope for his future leading an NFL team, the 35-year-old’s relative lack of experience seems to be giving some pause.

“Jerod Mayo is highly regarded, impressed Eagles last year during his interview process and has risen quickly like Mike Vrabel,” The Athletic’s Jeff Howe tweeted Sunday. “Execs are confident he’ll be a good head coach. But still with only 3 years of coach experience, the question is when a team will be ready to hire him.”

There’s something to be said about not rushing a guy into such a prominent role. For the team, it’s a big gamble to hire someone with little high-ranking coaching experience given the risk that his skills won’t translate from position coach to head coach. For the coach themselves, they shouldn’t rush into a head coaching job because if they perform poorly, it could permanently sully their reputation.

That said, Mayo still figures to be a top interview candidate over the coming months — maybe even more so than Josh McDaniels.