NFL Rumors: Patriots Didn’t Contact Mike Vrabel Before Jerod Mayo Hire

The Patriots hired Jerod Mayo as the team's next head coach, and it seemed to be a very easy decision for Robert Kraft.

Mayo's hire came one day after Bill Belichick and Kraft agreed to mutually part ways. The Patriots owner felt the "time was right" for the decision, and Mayo's contract reportedly set him up to be Belichick's successor, which was why New England didn't have to go through the formal process of interviewing multiple candidates.

It still could have been an option for Kraft. There were reports the owner soured on Mayo as a Belichick successor and that he viewed Mike Vrabel as a "home run hire."

However, Kraft seemed steadfast with Mayo as the choice -- so much so that the Patriots didn't contact "hot names" like Vrabel, Jim Harbaugh or Ben Johnson, according to Dianna Russini. The Athletic insider added the decision to hire Mayo was made "less than a day after firing Belichick with a plan in place."

Kraft kept to his usual track record of hiring from within, but it appears the owner learned from the mistake of letting Tom Brady go without a plan and made sure there was a strategy in place when Belichick left.

Kraft's next task will be hiring a general manager, and Mayo will need to assemble his staff as he prepares for his first season as an NFL head coach.