Report: Patriots assistant Jerod Mayo turns down defensive coordinator interview with Browns

One day after the New England Patriots announced contract negotiations with linebackers coach Jerod Mayo, the 36-year-old turned down one of the interview offers he received this offseason. As first reported by NBC Boston’s Phil Perry, Mayo will not talk with the Cleveland Browns about their open defensive coordinator position.

Cleveland requested to interview Mayo earlier this week, shortly after firing its previous DC, Joe Woods. The contract talks between him and the Patriots, however, have changed the circumstances.

While there is no concrete knowledge yet about what a new deal would look like, the belief is that it will come with a raise and a slightly modified role. Mayo has served as inside linebackers coach (2019-21) and linebackers coach (2022) since joining the Patriots’ staff. Along the way he effectively functioned as the team’s co-defensive coordinator alongside Steve Belichick; neither of the two wore the official title, though.

With Mayo potentially rising to a coordinator-level position within the Patriots organization now, the belief is that only a head-coaching opportunity would be able to lure him away. The Browns are not able to offer that at the moment.

Mayo does have one open interview request for a head-coaching gig. The Carolina Panthers are expected to talk to him next week as one of 10 candidates for their vacant job.

They are not the first organization to express interest of that kind for the former linebacker, who appeared in 111 games for the Patriots between 2008 and 2015. Mayo previously interviewed for head-coaching openings with the Philadelphia Eagles (2021), Las Vegas Raiders (2022) and Denver Broncos (2022).