Jerod Mayo has been named the new head coach of the New England Patriots. The 37-year-old wants to do many things differently to his famous predecessor Bill Belichick.

Many a coach has had big shoes to fill in the NFL when taking over. The footsteps that await Jerod Mayo, however, are huge. The 37-year-old is taking over from coaching legend Bill Belichick at the New England Patriots. The coach who achieved an incredible six Super Bowl victories during his era at Foxborough.

And not only that. With Mayo, the Pats have made a black coach their head coach for the first time in franchise history. “I’m really colorblind,” owner Robert Kraft chose more than just special words in that regard.

“Winning with the Patriots is my passion. I want to have the best people I can get. I chose the best head coach for this organization. He happens to be black. But I picked him because I believe he’s the best for the job.”

Words that the new head coach subsequently tried to comment on as gracefully as possible. “I appreciate the Thunder and the organization selecting me as the black head coach,” Mayo said.

Much more important, however, is to live diversity in the locker room. “You want the locker room to be very diverse and you want the world to look like that. Whatever happens, whether it’s black, white or disabled … I want people to be able to approach these people and really understand them.”

He added: “It doesn’t matter if it’s black, white or yellow, but it’s important so that we can try to solve the problem that we all know we have,” Mayo emphasized his stance.

Patriots: Mayo doesn’t want to be a Belichick copy

For eight years, Mayo played as a linebacker under Bill Belichick himself, won a Super Bowl with him and was named captain in his second year. After the end of his active career, the 37-year-old has also been a member of the coaching legend’s coaching staff for the past five years.

However, the young coach does not want to be a copy of Belichick. “I’m not trying to be Bill. I think Bill is a character in his own right.”

Nevertheless, Mayo was able to take a lot away from their time together. “The more I think about the lessons I learned from Bill, the more I think that hard work works. Hard work pays off. And that’s what we’re all about. “

The Patriots are back to tradition

What else he’s learned besides the importance of hard work is to “surround yourself with good people” and “manage expectations”. The expectations in New England are naturally immense.

Since the departure of quarterback legend Tom Brady, success has mostly failed to materialize, with other teams battling for the Vince Lombardi Trophy in the playoffs. The hope for better times – and a turnaround – is all the greater

In any case, there should be a turnaround when it comes to filling the positions. Belichick declined to name an offensive coordinator in 2022 and left the playcalling to his veteran assistant Matt Patricia, who is defensive-minded. A colossally failed experiment. The subsequent attempt to bring back Bill O’Brien to run the offense didn’t produce good results either.

Under Mayo, New England will return to a more traditional approach to job assignments. For the new coach, the awarding and importance of titles only plays a role in the external image, not within the team. “It’s about what is your job? What value do you bring to the organization? That’s the most important thing,” he explained to the journalists in attendance.

When will a General Manager be installed?

An important question in this context: Will there be a general manager again in the future? In recent years, Belichick has served the dual role of head coach and GM. In any case, the Pats do not seem to be in a hurry when it comes to a possible appointment, as owner Kraft made clear at the press conference.

He explained that other personnel decisions would be made first and that candidates for the GM position would be interviewed later. An interesting tactic, especially as the all-important draft, in which the franchise has the third pick, takes place in just three months’ time.

This mainly concerns the offense, but also all other areas.

“You want the players to have a sense of responsibility, to be committed. My tasks over the next few weeks will be to rebuild some relationships and promote cooperation. That’s what I’m focusing on,” Mayo said of his first steps.

New coach Mayo enjoys full support from owner Kraft

Mayo can be sure of the support of owner Kraft. It was clear throughout the press conference how much the billionaire appreciates his new coach. Kraft even commented on one of the 37-year-old’s answers with the words “good answer”.

Only time will tell whether Mayo will ultimately succeed in getting the Patriots back on the road to success, closing the obvious rifts that have emerged and filling Belichick’s shoes