Even though he will not be an NFL head coach in 2022, Jerod Mayo is one of the hottest young names on the market. The fact that he participated in three interviews over the last two years despite a comparative lack of coaching experience is proof of that.
Mayo, who is coming off his third season as the New England Patriots’ inside linebackers coach, spoke with the Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders earlier this year. He did not get either job — the same happened when he interviewed in Philadelphia in 2020 — but the experience as a whole still has been a valuable one as he said on Wednesday morning.
Appearing on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football on Wednesday, Mayo spoke about the process he went through and how it will impact him moving forward.
“Those interviews were good. It’s always good to get in front of people outside of your circle,” he said.
“Obviously, I played [in New England] my entire career, coached here my entire career. But getting in front of the Raiders and getting in front of the Broncos was definitely a great learning experience. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the job but at the same time I took a lot of things away from those experiences that will help me going forward.”
During his eight-year career with the Patriots, Mayo appeared in a combined 111 regular season and playoff games. He retired in 2016 but returned to the organization three year later to coach the team’s inside linebackers and serve as a de facto co-defensive coordinator alongside Steve Belichick.
Mayo confirmed he will stay put for the upcoming season, which will give him more chances to evolve as a coach and learn from the best to ever do it: Steve’s father and the Patriots’ head coach, Bill Belichick.
With the exception of his three seasons away from the game, Mayo has spent his entire professional life working alongside Belichick. Needless to say, he learned a lot from the future Hall of Famer — both as a player and later as a coach.
“Bill has evolved since I was a player until now,” Mayo said. “Obviously, players are different than they were back then. But I will say, as a player, he’s the ultimate teacher. He sees a bunch of different things on the field that you sometimes can’t see, which I always think is good. He’s not a micromanager. He puts you out there on the field; if you know how to do your job, you know how to do your job; if you don’t know how to do your job, you’re off the field.
“As a coach it’s been fantastic. Just a guy that I can lean on for understanding, a guy who I can bounce different ideas off of. And really going back to him not being a micromanager, he just lets me do my thing. He lets the defensive staff do our thing as far as game-planning and things like that. Now with that being said, he could come in there anytime and say, ‘I don’t like this idea, let’s change it up.’ At the end of the day, he’s the captain of the ship. But other than that, it’s been great. I’ve learned a lot from him.”
Despite not getting a head coaching offer the last two years, Mayo’s ambitions remain unchanged: he wants to become a head coach at one point.
For now, however, he will have to keep waiting for his time to arrive. Personal perspectives aside, the Patriots are probably happy about that and to keep the 36-year-old in the fold for at least one more season.
Loading comments...