New England Patriots Waste No Time Picking Bill Belichick’s Replacement

The New England Patriots are hiring Jerod Mayo as the franchise’s new head coach, reports said Friday, the day after Bill Belichick announced he was leaving after 24 seasons with the team.

Mayo is set to be formally announced as the new coach at a news conference next week, according to ESPN. At 37, Mayo will become the youngest coach in the NFL and also the first Black head coach at the Patriots.

Mayo, who played as a linebacker for the Pats between 2008 and 2015, joined Belichick’s coaching staff in 2019. Following news of Belichick’s departure, Mayo was widely considered a likely candidate to replace him. The club announced in January 2023 that it had started contract extension talks with Mayo which would keep the linebackers coach at Foxborough for the “long-term.”

Read more at The Daily Beast.