Getty Bill Belichick
One way or another, it seems as though another Bill Belichick disciple will get an opportunity to become a head coach in the NFL.
The New England Patriots‘ offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is the assistant coach from the organization who gets the most attention for potential head-coaching jobs, but NFL.,com’s Ian Rapoport told WEEI’s Gresh & Keefe that he believes linebackers coach Jerod Mayo is a name to watch.
“I believe Mayo is going to get an interview, maybe a couple of interviews,” Rapoport said. “I heard his Philadelphia Eagles interview last year was very, very good. I know he doesn’t have a lot of experience, and in New England the lack of titles, like he’s not technically a coordinator, which may or may not hurt him, but at least optics it doesn’t look great.”
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The Patriots don’t have a defensive coordinator per se, which can make it difficult to immediately identify which coaches are most impacting the performance on that side of the ball. Perhaps that’s the element that Mayo knew he had to overcome when he interviewed with the Eagles this past offseason.
“I guess his interview with the Eagles went incredible,” Rapoport said. “I’ve heard that from other teams who may or may not have a head coaching vacancy. So, teams are aware of that. I do think Mayo will get an interview and could he get a job in the right situation? I think he really could.”
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One thing in Mayo’s favor is the history of the man who held his position before he took over the role in 2019. Brian Flores was the Patriots’ linebackers coach before he used his success and experience in the role to land the head coaching job with the Miami Dolphins.
Potential Fits for Mayo
Multiple teams figure to have job openings next season. We know the Jacksonville Jaguars and Las Vegas Raiders will be looking for new head coaches. There is also a chance Mike Zimmer could be let go by the Minnesota Vikings. They have been eliminated from the playoffs and cannot finish better than 8-9. That makes back-to-back seasons out of the postseason for the Vikes.
The Chicago Bears are almost certainly going to bounce Matt Nagy. The Bears have won two straight to get to 6-10, but it is too little too late for a coach who barely made into this season after he failed to develop Mitchell Trubisky into a franchise quarterback. The Denver Broncos may look to replace Vic Fangio as the team heads into Week 18 out of the playoffs with a 7-9 record.
Also, don’t rule out the Carolina Panthers firing Matt Rhule. He has made a mess of what looked like a promising roster and it doesn’t appear as though he has endeared himself to his players.
A case could be made for Mayo with any of those teams.
The Jaguars Job Might Be Mayo’s Best Option
Let’s face it, the Jaguars job is probably the least attractive in some regards. The organization hasn’t exactly presented itself as the pillar of stability in recent years. However, they do have No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence and they are likely to have the top pick again in 2022.
There is a lot to work with there, but the team needs new culture. A guy like Mayo seems to be the kind of personality capable of delivering that to an organization in need of an identity. Perhaps the most attractive thing about Mayo is his youth. He’s only 35 years old which means the Jaguars could be placing someone at the helm who can lead the football team for many years.
Some of the bigger name candidates might snatch up the Bears and Raiders jobs. The Vikings situation is a tough one to access and I’m not sure the Broncos won’t give Fangio another shot.
In any case, Mayo getting a chance to do what Urban Meyer could not seems like a potentially strong NFL story for 2022.
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Source: Heavy
