A Week 18 victory against the Buffalo Bills was not enough to save Jerod Mayo’s job.
A little over an hour after the New England Patriots‘ 23-16 regular season finale win against the Bills, the first year head coach was relieved off his duties by Pats owner Robert Kraft.
Mayo had the unenviable task of stepping into eight-time Super Bowl winner Bill Belichick‘s shoes in the middle of a rebuild with a depleted roster and a rookie quarterback.
He finished with a 4-13 record in his first and only season in the New England hot-seat, and ultimately fumbled the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, falling to No.4 with the win against Buffalo.
With that said, many believed Mayo was destined to fail and should have been given more time to right the ship.
Patriots legend Rob Gronkowski was one of them, however, before Gronk could unleash his full thoughts on the matter, he was abruptly cut off by the Fox Sports’ television coverage.
During the Fox Sports’ halftime show, the larger than life former tight end voiced his displeasure at the franchise’s decision to fire the rookie head coach.
“I was shocked by that. … I think it was unfair to coach Jerod Mayo,” Gronkowski said.
“Rookie head coach — the roster that he was handed wasn’t that prominent. It’s tough. It’s a tough situation in New England.”
“I mean, he never had the chance to develop as a head coach. He was just a rookie himself in that department. And if you judge a coach by their first year, that’s really not appropriate.”
To further prove his point, he had the perfect evidence sitting next to him in Jimmy Johnson. “I mean, Jimmy Johnson, you went 1-15 in your first year. And then you won a couple of Super Bowls after that.”
The four-time Super Bowl winner seemingly had plenty more to say on the subject, but before he could unload, Michael Strahan stepped in and cut him off, insisting they had to go to a commercial break.
The timing of the intervention appeared odd, almost as if Fox and Strahan were reluctant to let Gronk go too hard on the Pats.
Fans also picked up on the awkward segment and shared their thoughts online.
“Why did it have to be Strahan? Sit back and let the man cook!” one fan remarked.
“No. Let him speak. This is a free country with free speech,” added another.
“Good for Gronk! Why ask him a question if he only has 30 seconds to talk??” a third wrote.
“Gronk was finally speaking passionately about something, and what does Fox do? Commercial!!! Come on Fox, you failed,” a fourth said.
“Aren’t they being paid to be analysts? Gronk should be allowed to give his honest opinion,” a fifth commented.
News of Mayo’s dismissal did the rounds following a statement by Kraft after the Patriots’ 2024-25 season officially came to an end.
“After the game today, I informed Jerod Mayo that he will not be returning as the head coach of the New England Patriots in 2025…, ” Kraft wtote.
“When other teams started requesting to interview him, I feared I would lose him and committed to making him our next head coach… Unfortunately, the trajectory of our team’s performances throughout the season did not ascend as I had hoped.”
Shortly after Mayo’s firing on Sunday, reports emerged that Patriots Hall of Famer and former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel would be a leading candidate for the role.
Gronk said he agrees that’s who his former team wants to hire.
“Obviously, Mr. Kraft didn’t see Jerod Mayo being that culture builder that he was hoping to be over that last season,” Gronkowski said.
“Obviously, Mr. Kraft has a plan as well going forward. He’s probably hoping to get Mike Vrabel. There’s some rumblings out there as well that Josh McDaniels may come back, as well, as offensive coordinator.”
The former New England Patriot spent eight seasons in Foxborough as a player, winning three Super Bowls.
The 49-year-old was at the helm in Tennessee between 2018-2023 but was fired on January 9, 2024.
Following his departure from the Titans, Vrabel was hired as a Coaching and Personnel Consultant for the Cleveland Browns in the 2024 offseason.
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