FWIW, Mayo is tied for 18th among NFL head coaches with regards to salary, same as Mike McDaniel:
To this point - you'd want a veteran coordinator who has had their chance at HC already and know that they likely aren't getting another shot. Guys like Robert Saleh or Brian Daboll aren't coming to work for him.
Based on what we’ve seen and heard of/from Mayo, it doesn’t surprise me.
One thing I think the Krafts should be keeping in mind is that HC of the NEP should look like one of the better available jobs. Next year, the Pats will have this trifecta of assets: QB, draft capital, cap room. I also think that despite the tensions of the late Brady/BB era, the Krafts can sell themselves as good owners to work for - they let BB run the whole damned show for 20 years before things soured.
I will say... injuries to 2 players should not drop a top 10 defense that is adding one of the best CBs in the league from top 10 to worst in the league... the defense is clearly performing a lot worse both as individuals and in aggregate than the unit last year, and it is not even close to explained by talent differentials.
Both played 4 games last year. To your point, and @Cellar-Door the defense played well without them last year. You both are correct there.
If this was their true belief, then they are idiots for firing the GOAT. Because, yeah, give BB Maye and his team a better record.
He’s not drafting Maye. He would have traded back like a moron. I’ll trade dumping BB for Maye 100 times out of 100. You can’t win titles without elite QBs anymore.
I mean last time he needed a QB and was in position to draft one he did not trade back, but yeah sure he was definitely trading back.
All I know is that he drafted a quarterback when he needed one, so the odds favor drafting a quarterback over trading back.
To be fair, going from Mac Jones to a Top 10-15 QB is a massive upgrade for a team. It alone should account for a few wins, at least, all else equal. It was their decision to hold back Maye the first 5 games, so no “Jacoby first 5 games” excuse, either.
I think one of Mayo's bigger blunders was not starting Maye in the first Miami game when they were starting Thompson with Tua out. That was a very winnable game and would have been a good chance to break in Maye.
100% agreed. I was certain that was going to be Maye's debut after game 2 vs. SEA when it was clear that Brissett couldn't cut it when the opponent wasn't self-destructing on offense. He was even worse the following week, so it seemed obvious that Maye needed to start. There's no question in my mind that the Pats beat MIA in that game going away. In the long run, we're likely better off with higher draft position, but that didn't make the day any less frustrating.
It was such a bad decision you almost have to think it was intentional. Unfortunately there are lots of calls like that that Mayo has made this year. He's either playing a long game or so bad at decision-making he shouldn't be an HC. We're very likely to get another year in which we find out.
I'm quoting this post but I'm not really reacting to it so much as the general idea that Kraft won't be willing to move on from Wolf/Mayo in less than multiple seasons. Which seems to have become something like conventional wisdom around here.
You make some very good points. I think Kraft has aged and his acumen and judgment may not be what it once was, but I don't think he's an idiot by any means. I also don't think it's impossible he moves on from Mayo this year. But I do think it's very unlikely. Primarily because I think he looks around the league at the teams that are reactionary and chase their tales and thinks: that's not the way to do it. He'd much rather be the stable, well-run franchise, a la Pittsburgh. If you buy into that then you don't fire your coach and replace your front office unless you are really sure. That's probably two years minimum in Mayo's (and Wolf's) case. The noise around "coaching for his job" these last four weeks is probably motivational but I have a hard time believing it's real. Now, if they go 4-13 in 2025, then I think it's a clear choice. Time to move on.
That also a good point and feels right
True, but there's more to it than simply not firing coaches - Pittsburgh has refrained from hiring bad ones. They don't just avoid overreacting to bad seasons - they avoid having them. The Pats are closing in on two consecutive seasons with fewer than five wins while the Steelers haven't had one since 1969.
I think Kraft saw Mayo as his Tomlin. Problem is... Tomlin was more experienced and most importantly... Tomlin took over from a voluntary retirement, and he kept the veteran DC, and promoted an experienced offensive coach to OC... He had a ton of both continuity and experience in his staff.
Turnover =/= improvement. These were their preseason WR rosters the last 2 years:
I don’t understand how “most” of the “horrifyingly mismanaged assets” are on BB at this point as far as WR goes
id be concerned that the same guys in charge of pro and college personnel and scouting are still here and the problems don’t seem to magically have resolved when BB left
Juju and Parker were his, including Parker's ridiculous extension, and that's the bulk of the dead money, dumped for poor performance, not cap constraints.
I was going to wait until the end of the season to comment because the weekly horse-race element of this can be distracting to me. But with four games left it’s at least early enough to talk about the lack of help the front office has been to Mayo. I was frustrated with the draft picks after Maye minus Baker and Joe Milton. Baker was high risk / high reward but that’s fine for a 4th rounder. Groh was one of the reasons they went with TT. He had that idiotic quote about drafting fast players.
I wonder if they go of Groh and bring in someone to help at that level of the org.
Oh good, the biggest advantage you can have in the nfl is a good QB on a rookie contract. So let's waste it hoping Mayo can figure out how to be atleast a replacement level coach.
As down as I (and many many others) are on Mayo, I think the front office is a far bigger concern. I'd replace both, but if I had to choose one, it would be the grocery buyers.
Players being less effective is not an excuse for the coaches... It is arguably an indictment of the coaches. Injuries may be beyond control, but Dugger is a perfect example of a guy who is playing poorly in part because h is no longer has Bill scheme protecting his weaknesses
Agree on Dugger. They also brought too many players back from a 4-13 team. Like was bringing both Dugger and Peppers smart? Probably not as they are the same position.
Or even beyond scheme, working with the player to improve their technique. Regardless, I agree with the underlying point.
So absent a complete flameout over the remaining games, Mayo will likely be here next year. I get all the catastrophe outcomes - they have been posted on these pages for months. But is there any scenario where he grows into the role along with the roster and they become a contender? Or is there no path?
Ken Whisenhunt made the SB on the Kurt Warner express so in the words of some guy ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE
Got it.
Of course there is. He can be self-critical of non-game processes, of personnel needed for his system, of interplay with Wolf, etc as to player acquisition and retention and of gameday playcalling and game management. Mayo has business experience and football experience, but lacks coaching experience. To assume that someone who has never coached at any level won't improve with a full offseason seems unreasonable.
