1. The move being made so quickly makes me nervous. On the other hand, this wasn't really done quickly - it has been "in the works" as they say.
2. The most interesting thing Kraft said at his presser yesterday was that BB did not have complete and total control of football ops until after the third Superbowl, that at the time he thought BB had earned it, and that subsequent events validated the decision. We can infer from that that Mayo is not getting total control here.
3. My biggest concern with BB in recent years was his apparent insularity - he seems to rely on an ever-shrinking pool of guys to fill coaching and front office roles. I think having a single guy at the helm for too long risks groupthink and the Pats suffered from that to some degree. Whatever else happens, I hope we bring in a GM with real power and with a wider network than just BB guys.
4. I'm very interested to see if Steve B stays or goes. I would handicap it at 80% goes, 20% stays. He goes if any of the following are true:
- He's privy to the behind the scenes interactions between Kraft and BB and believes the Krafts did BB dirty.
- His top priority is coaching with his Dad for as long as he can.
- He and Mayo don't get along or don't see eye to eye on key defensive things and Mayo wants to go in a different direction.
On the other hand, his reasons for staying would be:
- It would be good for his NFL career to get experience apart from his Dad.
- He and Mayo do work well together and have similar ideas about defense.
If he leaves, I don't think it says much, good or bad. (Because he could leave for concerning or nonconcerning reasons). If he stays, I think it would be a positive sign.
5. The real key here to evaluating this is what happens with the rest of the coaching staff and front office.