Patriots Hiring Jerod Mayo As Head Coach After Bill Belichick Exit

Well, that didn't take long.

The Patriots plan to hire Jerod Mayo as their next head coach, a source confirmed to NESN.com on Friday. Adam Schefter of ESPN was the first to report the news.

The news arrived just over 24 hours after New England announced a "mutual" parting of ways with legendary head coach Bill Belichick. Mayo will meet with reporters sometime next week.

The Patriots can promote Mayo quickly reportedly due to a clause in the contract extension he signed last offseason.

As first laid out by NFL Media's Ian Rapoport, the Patriots worked a succession plan into Mayo's contract that enables them to bypass typical NFL hiring guidelines, including the Rooney Rule. The language in Mayo's contract reportedly was communicated to the league.

At the time of this writing, it was unclear how Mayo's promotion could impact New England's future plans at both coordinator spots and in the personnel department.