Patriots’ Jerod Mayo Will ‘Lean On’ These People In First Season

Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo is entering the unknown, embarking on his first season running the show in New England.

It's a pretty daunting task taking over for a legend like Bill Belichick, but Mayo's been refreshingly open about acknowledging that fact. There's a piece of the 37-year-old that's still trying to learn what to do, and at times is just avoiding mistakes, so there's been a vulnerability to him since being promoted.

Mayo knows he doesn't have all the answers, and if you don't believe us, just listen to the man himself.

"I'm not going to sit up here and act like I have all the answers, because I don't," Mayo told reporters Wednesday, per team-provided transcript. "Eliot (Wolf is) one of those guys that I'm going to lean on. (Ben) McAdoo is one of those guys that I'm going to lean on. Alex Van Pelt -- all of those guys are guys I feel like I can lean on and learn a lot from, as well as ownership. They've been very supportive in what we've done."

It makes sense for Mayo to rely on that group as he navigates uncharted waters.

Wolf, who essentially is running things at the personnel level, has quite a few connections around the league -- having grown up watching his father, Ron, excel in a similar role. That's allowed him to aid Mayo in building out his coaching staff, which includes Van Pelt and McAdoo, who each have made an impact already.

Van Pelt's offense will look considerably different from the ones rolled out at Gillette Stadium over the last few seasons, as his staff is looking to bring concepts from Kevin Stefanski's system with the Cleveland Browns. McAdoo, who has experience being a head coach for a historic franchise, is someone who can relate to the path Mayo's about to embark on.

We don't have to tell you how important Robert Kraft is.

It's refreshing hearing Mayo talk about how he'll utilize those around him. We'll just have to wait and see if it leads to results during the early portion of his Patriots tenure.