Can Jerod Mayo Follow Historic Line Of Patriots Head Coaches?

As Jerod Mayo gets set to take over the Patriots as the 15th head coach in franchise history, he steps to the helm after three straight transcending coaches have held the position in New England.

Since Robert Kraft took over as owner in 1994, he has hired three head coaches for the Patriots: Bill Parcells, Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick.

It’s safe those have been three smart decisions.

While Parcells’ Hall of Fame resume stems from other stops beyond New England, most notably with a pair of championships with the New York Giants, he did take the Patriots to the playoffs twice in four years. The latter appearance led to an AFC title and an appearance in Super Bowl XXXI, the first for the Patriots in 11 years.

Carroll followed Parcells and never finished under .500 in his three seasons in New England, making the playoffs twice. Carroll also went on to develop a strong legacy, winning Super Bowl XLVIII with the Seattle Seahawks. He came inches away from winning back-to-back titles in a Super Bowl XLIX loss to the Patriots.

Finally, Belichick went 5-11 in his first season leading New England. From there, the rest is history. Belichick led the Patriots to 18 playoff appearances, nine conference titles and six Super Bowl championships in arguably the greatest two-decade run in the history of sports.

All three of Mayo’s predecessors will eventually be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That’s a lot of pressure to put on a first-time head coach.

While it is way too early to predict the potential of Mayo’s legacy, his playing career and coaching development in New England certainly have the 37-year-old qualified to lead the Patriots forward.

Will Mayo continue the Hall of Fame track of the job in New England? Worry about that later.

For now? Mayo’s priority is getting New England back to the postseason for the first time in two seasons and improving from a disastrous 4-13 campaign in 2023.