Patriots owner Robert Kraft made waves mere hours after his team's season finale vs. the Bills on Sunday when he decided to fire head coach Jerod Mayo after just one season.
In a statement, the 83-year-old called the decision one of the hardest he's ever had to make given his relationship with the former linebacker and the respect he has for him as a leader.
Kraft then met with local reporters on Monday morning and, before taking questions, took complete blame for the situation:
“This whole situation is on me," he explained. "I feel terrible for Jerod because I put him in an untenable situation. I know that he has all the tools as a head coach, to be successful in this league. He just needed more time before taking the job. In the end, I'm a fan of this team first and now, I have to go out and find a coach that can get us back to the playoff and hopefully championships."
Robert Kraft on the decision to move on from Head Coach Jerod Mayo. pic.twitter.com/zTADw2lrui
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) January 6, 2025
Kraft went onto say that he does not want to have to go through this same process next year: "We're gonna do what we've gotta do to fix it."
The Patriots are now set to embark on their second head coaching search in as many seasons. This time, however, they'll have to be thorough. It was written into Mayo's contract that he'd be Bill Belichick's successor, which allowed the team to bypass the Rooney Rule and an external coaching search. That's obviously not the case this year and according to Kraft, a search is imminent.
New England has already requested to interview Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson for the role and according to multiple reports, former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel is towards the top of their list and expected to interview as well.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Patriots Owner Robert Kraft Takes Blame for Jerod Mayo ‘Situation’.
