Jan 17, 2024; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo poses for a photo at a press conference held at Gillette Stadium to announce his hiring as head coach. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
Jerod Mayo learned for years under Bill Belichick before replacing the future Hall of Famer as head coach of the New England Patriots, but apparently there has been no sentimental passing of the torch between the two.
During an interview with Kay Adams on “Up & Adams” Monday, Mayo was asked whether Belichick has reached out to him to congratulate the former linebacker on his new gig as head coach in New England. Mayo’s response was quite telling.
“That’s a tough question,” Mayo said. “We haven’t had a lot of communication since I’ve been here and honestly, for me, my focus is the players. It’s all about the players. I learned a lot from Bill, I honestly did — X’s and O’s and also structure in practice and things like that. But, like I said, it’s a different era and a different time, and hopefully we can have that same success.”
Has Bill Belichick reached out to new #Patriots HC Jerod Mayo since he got the gig?
"We haven't had a lot of communication. I learned a lot from Bill… but it's a different time, it's a different era and hopefully we can have that same success." @jerod_mayo51 @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/DkMNpzQJlc
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) July 29, 2024
In other words, no, Belichick has not reached out to Mayo.
That is somewhat surprising. While Belichick is probably unhappy with the way things ended in New England, he and Mayo seemingly had a strong relationship for several years.
Belichick drafted Mayo in the first round out of Tennessee and 2008, and the former Tennessee star played for the Patriots for eight years. A few years after he retired, Mayo joined Belichick’s staff as a linebackers coach. He held that job for five years before being promoted to head coach this offseason.
There has supposedly been some major tension between Belichick and Robert Kraft since the Patriots moved on from their six-time Super Bowl champion coach. Mayo has tried to make it clear that he will do things differently than his predecessor. It is possible that Belichick is unhappy with the way his tenure in New England ended and is not ready to exchange pleasantries with anyone who had a hand in the changing of the regime.
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