Patriots Rumors: How Jerod Mayo ‘Surprised’ Execs Before Firing

A nightmarish final quarter of the Patriots’ season might have been the straw that broke the camel’s back for Jerod Mayo in New England.

The Patriots dropped three of their last four games, and the lone win in the season finale cost New England the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 draft. Arguably the most deflating performance over that stretch was a Week 15 trip to Arizona, where the Patriots returned from their bye and were utterly embarrassed by the mediocre Cardinals.

According to The Athletic’s Chad Graff, “most” New England coaches went straight back to work after the demoralizing trip to the desert and studied film on the plane. Mayo, however, reportedly was not one of them.

“Plane rides in the NFL are typically quiet after losses. Coaches and execs sit up front, players toward the back,” Graff wrote.

“But in a move that surprised some at the front of the plane after such a lopsided loss, according to a team source, Mayo, the team’s first-year head coach who had been handpicked by owner Robert Kraft to succeed Bill Belichick, left his spot near the front and went back to where some players had gathered to play cards, choosing to hang out there while his assistants watched film.”

Graff’s report was among several shared after Mayo’s firing that suggested the former linebacker was in way over his head this season. Now, the Patriots must learn from the failed Mayo experience and make sure they don’t make the same mistake when they hire their new coach.