Tom Brady Praises Patriots Coach, ‘Great Friend’ Jerod Mayo

Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo saw plenty of former teammates congratulate and praise him following his promotion, but the latest man to do so probably carries a bit more weight than others.

Tom Brady doesn't go around calling everyone his "great friend," after all.

Mayo and Brady played together for eight seasons, which spanned the entirety of the former's career. During that time, Mayo had quite the impact on Brady, who shared effusive praise of the 37-year-old while appearing on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Tuesday.

"Jerod is a great leader, a great captain, a great friend; I think he had a tremendous amount of success in football and then had success in other parts of his life when he retired and then him coming back into coaching," Brady told McAfee, as transcribed by AtoZ Sports' Sophie Weller. "I think is great for the NFL and certainly great for the Patriots."

It's been a pretty smooth transition from the outside looking in, as most with ties to the Patriots view Mayo's promotion as a positive. It's something that many saw coming, which further helps the argument that he's right for the job.

"He's got a great understanding of how things need to be done," Brady said. "I think Jerod does an incredible job relating to everybody in the locker room, all the coaches and I think he'll do a great job."

It remains to be seen how smooth the transition will be, especially considering the amount of roster turnover expected. If Mayo does get the right people into his system, there's no reason to think he can't be successful -- especially given what his uber-successful ex-teammate has to say.