The New England Patriots didn't even wait until "Black Monday" to break out the pink slips, as Robert Kraft decided to announce head coach Jerod Mayo's firing shortly after the Patriots won their regular-season finale against the Buffalo Bills, 23-16.
This firing was surprising for a couple of reasons. While New England did finish with a pitiful 4-13 record, this was Mayo's first season as head coach. He was even reportedly chosen by Kraft to be Bill Belichick's successor ahead of time, and had been on staff since 2019 after playing for the Patriots from 2008-15. However, after just 17 games, Kraft had seen enough to hand the former team captain his walking papers.
Patriots legend Rob Gronkowski, who spent six years as Mayo's teammate and now works for Fox, addressed New England's shocking decision on live television, and he clearly disagrees with the move.
Gronk was not at all happy about the Jerod Mayo firing in New England and called it unfair to do in a coach’s first year.
— uSTADIUM (@uSTADIUM) January 5, 2025
Fox didn’t let him go too long as they cut to break 😬 pic.twitter.com/X3kCgdYMju
"I was shocked by that, and to happen that soon was a shocker to a lot of people, especially here at the desk, we were all surprised by that," Gronk said. "I think it was unfair to coach Jerod Mayo. I mean, he never had the chance to develop as a head coach, he was just a rookie himself in that department. And if you judge a coach by their first year, that's really ... not appropriate..."
Gronk then turned to Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Jimmy Johnson and mentioned how he went 1-15 in his first season as the lead man with the Dallas Cowboys, and then later won two Super Bowls.
For Kraft to make this decision before the final NFL Sunday of the year had even come to a close shows that he had been considering a move for some time. It also indicates that he has a plan for how to acquire his next head coach. Maybe it's another former Patriots player, who also happened to play linebacker. Only time will tell.
