Jerod Mayo has explored coaching opportunities outside of New England in each of the last two offseasons. Don't be surprised if this spring finally sees the 36-year-old leave the Patriots.
Mayo interviewed for the Philadelphia Eagles head coaching vacancy in 2021 and conducted interviews with both the Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders last offseason. Both years, Mayo was passed over for other candidates and returned to the Patriots to serve as both a linebackers coach and de facto co-defensive coordinator with Steve Belichick.
That Mayo still is splitting duties with Belichick might serve as the impetus for his eventual exit, according to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer and NBC Sports Boston's Tom E. Curran.
During an NBC Sports Boston segment on Thursday, Breer indicated that Mayo, who reportedly is in the last year of his contract, wants the official title of defensive coordinator. Without it, and with Belichick still handling play-calling duties, he might find it difficult to get over the hump during head coaching interviews.
"If you look across the league right now, there's just an enormous backlog of defensive coaches who are qualified and ready (for head coaching jobs)," Breer said. "Dan Quinn waiting for his second shot, Raheem Morris, DeMeco Ryans, Ejiro Evero in Denver. There is this long list of qualified defensive coordinators who are waiting on taking that next step. You've got to do things to separate yourself and right now, Jerod Mayo isn't calling the defense and doesn't have the title, so he's sort of fighting upstream against some of these other guys."
Curran then revealed that Mayo last offseason rejected an offer to become an official co-defensive coordinator.
"He felt as if he did a lot more of the coordinating while Steve was a play-caller," Curran said. "They work well together, but I think Jerod is kind of bursting at the seams to spread his wings."
None of this means that Mayo is in a rush to leave New England. NBC Sports Boston's Phil Perry added that Mayo's dream job might be to replace Bill Belichick as the next Patriots head coach.
However, Mayo apparently doesn't want to wait around forever and wants to advance his own career as quickly as possible -- as he should. If taking a defensive coordinator job elsewhere is a necessary step toward becoming an NFL head coach, it sounds like Mayo will take it.
That said, Mayo recently was named one of the top head coaching candidates for the upcoming offseason. So, he might not even need official defensive coordinator experience to get the job he really wants.
Add this to the growing list of fascinating Patriots storylines to monitor over the next few months.
