Jerod Mayo Can't Tell You About Patriot Way But Can Tell You What He's About

Jerod Mayo seemingly inherited the New England Patriots head coach job from Bill Belichick after playing for the former coach, working on Belichick's coaching staff as an assistant and coordinator (even without the title) and, of course, winning a bunch of championships.

But if you needed a clue that Mayo is breaking free of Belichick's way of doing things, you only had to listen to his Wednesday news conference.

FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - NOVEMBER 05: Linebackers coach Jerod Mayo looks on during the game against the Washington Commanders at Gillette Stadium on November 05, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Patriot Way Fades Into History

And that's where you heard a high-energy, humble, transparent guy show everyone the Patriot Way of the past two decades is now a thing of the past.

"Honestly, in my opinion, and I say in my opinion, I couldn't articulate what the Patriot Way is," Mayo said, seemingly disconnecting from the culture Belichick instilled for so long.

"I just know that hard work works. And that's how I looked at the Patriot Way is that we just worked harder than everyone else. And I do, I believe in that philosophy as well.

"So we'll be out here working hard and, look, you just try to put the guys in difficult situations, see how they respond, you put them in the weight room, heavy weight on their backs, see how they respond, and try to build a tough, dependable football team."'

FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 11: Head coach Bill Belichick (L) of the New England Patriots shakes hands with owner Robert Kraft (R) during a press conference at Gillette Stadium on January 11, 2024 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Belichick announced he is stepping down as head coach after 24 seasons with the team. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Mayo: ‘Husband, Father, Christian’

Belichick and the Patriots parted ways last January. It was in deed, if not in word, a firing. Mayo was hired by owner Robert Kraft days later without so much as an external candidate interview taking place.

So the Patriots have an expectation about the new head coach they have. Which begs the question, what do they have? 

"Honestly, I mean, this is me," Mayo said. "If you talk to guys who have known me over the years, I do change. I'm still evolving. I'm evolving as a head coach. This isn't the final form of Jerod Mayo, the head coach. I've only been doing this for a couple of months. We'll see how it is going forward.

"But at the core, I'm a father, I'm a husband, I'm a Christian. That's my core. And so, those things won't change … It's not a dumb question. It's actually a good question. But some of the philosophy things, I'm still kind of getting those in order."

Mayo has talked to coaches around the league to pick their brains on how to be the best head coach he can. He even had Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy visit, which is interesting because once upon a time Dungy and his Colts were the biggest rival Belichick's Patriots had.

Tony Dungy joined OutKick 360 to discuss this week's Super Bowl. . (Photo by Icon Sportswire)

Mayo Breaks From Belichick Methods

Now, in a statement of how profoundly different things are going to be around the Patriots, Mayo is trying to find good ideas "outside of this silo." He even intends to "mirror" the approach Dungy used to develop people, which was a significant contrast from how Belichick did it in many ways, including the number of curse words used to communicate.

And that's not all the changes.

The Boston Celtics are in the Eastern Conference Finals again. And Mayo is open about how his relationship with Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla has been helpful to him relate with people.  

"First of all, I root for all Boston teams," Mayo said. "Second of all, I would say, look, I've known Joe before he was the head coach of the Celtics. It kind of happened in a not traditional way. he was out here two summers when he was still an assistant coach so we've had that relationship and always stayed in contact.

"We've talked ball and talked about how to deal with people. I think at the end of the day it's all about the people. And he's been a great resource for me."

FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 17: Newly appointed head coach Jerod Mayo of the New England Patriots speaks to the media during a press conference at Gillette Stadium on January 17, 2024 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Patriots Mesh Some Old With New

Mayo is trying to sync the people he retained from the Belichick staff with the new coaches he hired.

"We brought in 17 new coaches and I think those guys are doing a good job jelling with the rest of the staff," Mayo said. "It's a work in progress."

That work includes making the veteran coaches who worked under Belichick feel they are still empowered – even when that veteran coach's name is also named Belichick. 

So, yes, that means safeties coach Brian Belichick.

"Oh, he's been fantastic," Mayo said of the remaining Belichick. "He's been fantastic and there are other guys in the organization that it's been a little awkward for them and those guys have handled it the right way. Brian loves football and he loves New England … We're happy that he's here."

FOXBOROUGH, MA - JANUARY 07: New England Patriots linebackers coach Jerod Mayo during a game between the New England Patriots and the New York Jets on January 7, 2024, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Jerod Mayo Admits He's Learning

Mayo, and his team by extension, are in a learning curve now. And it is as fundamental as him coaching his coaches and perhaps even learning communication tricks from vice president of communications Stacey James.

"Look, we're all being evaluated," Mayo said. "I'm being evaluated, the players are being evaluated. And, hopefully, everyone's open to feedback. Stacey just told me some things I did wrong the last time I was up here, so it's all good."

Mayo is a first-year coach who obviously doesn't know it all. But it's a strength that he knows he doesn't know it all.

Many new coaches would never admit that for fear of losing some respect from peers or staff or players. Mayo doesn't seem worried about that.

He's even intending to use assistant quarterbacks coach Evan Rothstein as a resource to perhaps help with some game management tactics in-game and weighing analytics-driven decisions.

"He's been a great resource, a great sounding board for me," Mayo said.

But even as he's getting help, Mayo is staying true to what he believes.

"You manage processes, you don't manage people," Mayo said. "You lead people..."