In the National Football League (NFL), it is not common to witness Black coaches being granted opportunities for head coaching positions. Black coaches today are still not getting top positions in a league where almost 60 percent of the players are Black, even though they are qualified. Despite the low numbers, the New England Patriots recently announced that Jerod Mayo would be replacing the legendary Bill Belichick as head coach. Mayo will be the first Black head coach for the franchise and the first ex-Patriots player to assume the role of head coach.
Mayo is no ordinary face in the NFL, especially with the New England Patriots. He played eight seasons with the organization after being selected in the first round of the 2008 draft from the University of Tennessee. In 2010, Mayo was awarded Defensive Rookie of the Year and recognized with Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors. He led the league in tackles and earned a second Pro Bowl selection in 2012. Mayo also won a Super Bowl with the team in 2014. On February 16, 2016, he announced his retirement from the NFL.
Mayo’s experience as a player and a coach will help him overcome the challenge of the Patriots’ losing streak. Since 2019, Mayo has been working with Bill Belichick as an assistant, mainly focusing on coaching the Patriots’ linebackers. He knows the Patriots’ defense well, it ranked seventh in the NFL in 2023. The defense stood out as one of the few positive aspects for the team in their challenging 4-13 season.
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Many current Patriot players are excited for Mayo to take over as the head coach. Veteran defensive tackle Davon Godchaux spoke highly about Mayo when asked his opinion on him according to the team’s official website (Patroits.com)
“He deserves to be a head coach. He’s a leader. You have to have your guys want to get up and play for you. It’s not easy to do in the NFL when you have other grown men,” Godchaux said.
“It’s not easy to get up to play for coaches, especially coaches you don’t respect. I think I’m speaking for everybody when I say everybody respects Coach Mayo.”
Jerod Mayo joins the short list of only three African-American coaches who currently have head coach positions: Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers), Todd Bowles (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), and DeMeco Ryans (Houston Texans).
