Jerod Mayo Replaces Bill Belichick, Becomes Patriots’ First Black Head Coach

Jerod Mayo will succeed Bill Belichick as the Patriots head coach. He is the first Black head coach in franchise history.

Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick drafted linebacker Jerod Mayo in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft.

Sixteen years later, Mayo is replacing him.

Mayo, who played his entire eight-year career with the Patriots, is the 15th head coach and the first Black head coach in Patriots history. Following his retirement after the 2015 season, Mayo worked in finance for Optum, a healthcare services provider before joining Belichick’s staff.

Mayo said the finance experience, as well as working under Belichick as the Patriots’ linebacker coach, has prepared him for this moment.

“I feel like I’m prepared. I feel like I’m ready,” Mayo said in early January, according to ESPN. “I feel like I can talk to men, women, old, young, white, Black—it doesn’t matter. And hopefully, develop those people into upstanding citizens and help them evolve. That’s how I think about it. I feel like my calling is to develop.”

Mayo added that building relationships with his players is a big part of his coaching philosophy.

“I coach out of love. Once you build that relationship with a guy, you can be tough on the players,” he said. “But if you don’t have that warmth before confidence, it was a little different when I played. Whatever the coach told you to do, you just go out and do it. But this generation is a little bit different. They want to understand the ‘why.’”

Mayo, 37, was a two-time Pro Bowler and the 2008 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Mayo and Belichick won a Super Bowl together, defeating the the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX.

He has big shoes to fill. Belichick won 17 division titles and six Super Bowls. in New England. Mayo, now the youngest head coach in the NFL, will be formally introduced by the team on Wednesday, Jan. 16.

Mayo is not the only Black man who has a chance to become a head coach this offseason. Las Vegas Raiders interim head coach Antonio Pierce, who went 5-4 in nine games this season, is likely to retain the position full-time and even has the support of several of his players, including defensive end Maxx Crosby, who has threatened to request a trade if Pierce isn’t hired full-time.