Matthew Judon Senses ‘Excitement’ On Patriots’ Jerod Mayo Hire

When Jerod Mayo was hired as New England Patriots head coach, players responded positively on social media, and a defensive star Friday confirmed that sentiment.

Mayo’s succession from linebackers coach to head coach reportedly was in his contract and came a day after Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft agreed to part ways.

Former players like Dont’a Hightower and Jaime Collins expressed strong confidence in Mayo’s ability to translate as a head coach, James White even hinted he’d be open to joining his staff.

Matthew Judon was on ESPN’s “NFL Live” and gave insight on how the locker room felt about the Mayo hire.

“A lot of people, since the season’s been over, we’ve been out of town, but we were on text threads and stuff, talking,” Judon said, per Boston.com’s Conor Roche. “I think there’s a lot of excitement for a guy like Mayo to get that job and to see what he can do in the lead position and actually run his own ship.”

It was reported during the season Mayo had rubbed people in the organization the “wrong way,” but he pushed back on that narrative, and he continuously received public support from players. It might be safe to say there will be quick buy-in, especially for pending free agents.

“Just from being a former player to a coach to (having) a business background, he left the game for a little bit but it called him back,” Judon said. “That’s homegrown talent in a coach. I think we’re really excited to see what he can do this upcoming season and actually get to learn from him and get to see the game how he actually wants to portray it.”

Mayo is set to be introduced as head coach at noon ET on Wednesday, and it would not be a surprise if there former teammates attended the news conference to congratulate him.