Former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski believes the Patriots firing Jerod Mayo as head coach was unfair. He made his case during an NFL on FOX broadcast on Sunday.
Mayo was fired following the team’s loss to the Buffalo Bills. The Patriots have already begun their head coaching search with Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson being on tap as a candidate they’ve requested to interview.
“I was shocked by that and to happen so soon was a shocker to a lot of people,” said Gronkowski. “…I think it was unfair to coach Jerod Mayo. I mean he had never had the chance to develop as a head coach. He was just a rookie himself in that department. If you judge a coach by their first year, that’s really not appropriate. Jimmy Johnson, you went 1-15 your first year and then you won a couple of Super Bowls after that.”
he 100% was https://t.co/NflqSy0WsH pic.twitter.com/0dRsduqmKf
— mm (@muhtacinm) January 5, 2025
Time will tell what direction the Patriots go in after their latest firing. They could interview several different candidates, including Johnson. There are also the continued links between the team and Mike Vrabel.
New England is being viewed as an attractive destination for coaches with Drake Maye at quarterback and the team entering the offseason with the most salary cap space.
So the Patriots should have plenty of options to pick from.
