The Patriots’ 2024 season was supposed to be a clean slate. After all, Jerod Mayo’s promotion brought promises of modernized schemes and refreshed energy. And for the first time in 24 years, someone other than Bill Belichick stalked the sidelines in Foxborough. But as the season ended on a sour 4-13 note, team owner Robert Kraft grew impatient… He knew the first-year HC would experience “growing pains” because he received one of the least talented rosters in the NFL, but Kraft’s tolerance kept dwindling after “Fire Mayo!” chants erupted in stadiums, and some of Mayo’s erratic media appearances stirred unease.
When Mayo was later dismissed from his role, many spoke about the roster talent, or the lack of it, especially the offensive line and the wide receiver. The team had started seven different line configurations in the first seven weeks of the 2024 season and ten different combinations by the end of it. Why? It was because of personnel missteps, injuries, and poor performance, too. And now, former Patriots DT Vince Wilfork has come forward to share his thoughts about Mayo’s leadership.
“I was kind of bummed out for Jerod. You know, one year. I mean, I am not going to beat a dead horse, but everybody knows, you know, it was BS. It is what it is,” he said on ‘The RG Media’. Even in January, he had called Mayo’s firing ‘unfair’. What’s interesting is that Kraft favored Mayo as Belichick’s successor owing to his tendency to connect with the younger players and bring them together. In fact, there was a time the team owner was so afraid of losing Mayo (the Broncos, Raiders, and Eagles were interested in him) that he added a succession line in Mayo’s contract when he was a linebackers coach under Belichick.
However, Wilfork is also happy with the team’s current HC, Mike Vrabel. “I love Mike Vrabel. I love Mike Vrabel as a coach. I think he had the right going to be a head coach. The next best thing, like he is Mike. I played with Mike. I played up on Mike in Houston when he was a linebackers coach in Houston, and he became a defensive coordinator. And we all saw what he had done when he went to Tennessee with the AFC championship. So his resume is pretty good. And the one thing I really love about him, especially for the Patriots, is, he is young. You’re not getting a 70-year-old coach.”
Wilfork was teammates with both Vrabel and Mayo, and that explains the deep respect he has for them.
Vince Wilfork gets honest about Jerod Mayo, Mike Vrabel, and what really went down with the Patriots coaching change. No sugarcoating here. pic.twitter.com/XIheIfCZch
— RG (@TheRGMedia) July 2, 2025
When Mayo was the HC, the executive vice president of player personnel, Eliot Wolf, emphasized that they needed to weaponize the offense during the offseason in such a way that they could support their rookie QB, Drake Maye. However, opponents didn’t really fear their receiving corps, which had Kayshon Boutte, Kendrick Bourne, and DeMario Douglas right on top of the depth chart. The reason? Lack of any real development.
The Patriots had first-year coaches at offensive line and receiver, and there wasn’t much progress in their rookies to become real weapons like they had thought. Now the team has Mike Vrabel to depend on, and they hope for a successful upcoming season.
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