Jerod Mayo, linebackers coach for the New England Patriots. Stew Milne/Associated Press
Whether Bill Belichick’s future as the New England Patriots head coach will extend beyond this season remains an open question.
But one of the candidates to possibly succeed the legendary coach reiterated on Tuesday that he believes he’s ready for an opportunity to lead an NFL team.
Patriots linebackers coach Jerod Mayo said despite coaching during New England’s worst season under Belichick, he’s garnered perspective he believes will be invaluable whenever – and wherever – he gets a chance to lead a team.
“When I think about when I do get my opportunity – and I don’t know when that’s going to be – honestly, I’m kind of like a dry leaf blowing in the wind, wherever (it) takes me,” Mayo said.
“But at the same time, I feel like I’m prepared. I feel like I’m ready. I look forward to the opportunity, wherever that may be.”
Mayo has been near the top of the list as viable Belichick successors since the Patriots took the unique step of announcing they were giving the assistant a long-term extension last offseason.
Though it’s unclear what the terms of Mayo’s new deal include, it came after the 37-year-old interviewed for head coaching jobs in Philadelphia and Carolina each of the past two years.
Mayo, who played for New England for eight seasons, won a Super Bowl ring with the team during the 2014 season and was hired as an assistant coach in 2019.
THE PATRIOTS have twice had the ability to either add or pursue quarterback and 2023 MVP favorite Lamar Jackson and passed in both instances.
The Patriots could have selected Jackson in the 2018 NFL draft, but instead picked offensive tackle Isaiah Wynn and running back Sony Michel. This offseason, the Ravens slapped the non-exclusive franchise tag on Jackson, allowing other teams to negotiate with their quarterback. The Patriots, and every other team, failed to sign him to an offer sheet, so he returned to the Ravens on a five-year, $260 million contract.
He’s rewarded the team with stellar play and the No. 1 seed in the AFC, while the Patriots benched starter Mac Jones and have gone 4-12 this season.
“There’s a lot of things that go on in the offseason,” Coach Bill Belichick said when asked about the Patriots’ lack of pursuit of Jackson in a radio interview on Boston’s WEEI on Tuesday morning. “Each player has his own story. But, look, in Lamar’s case – there was a lot of, I would say, there would have been a lot of moving parts on that one anyway. But you know, I’ll discuss the players that are on the team, not the ones that aren’t on it. I mean, there’s a lot of players out there that were available. They’re always available during the offseason. We talked to some of the players, some of the agents and all that. But those are all … those conversations are on a whole other level. So, stick to the guys that are here.”
Patriots owner Robert Kraft said this offseason that rapper Meek Mill had told him that Jackson wanted to join the Patriots. Kraft left that decision up to Belichick.
PANTHERS: The NFL fined owner David Tepper $300,000 for tossing a drink at fans in Jacksonville toward the end of a game on Sunday.
The league called Tepper’s conduct “unacceptable” in a statement released Tuesday. Tepper’s reaction came after rookie quarterback Bryce Young threw an interception with less than three minutes to play in a 26-0 loss to the Jaguars.
OBITUARY: Frank Ryan, who led the Cleveland Browns to their last NFL title in 1964 while spending his offseasons getting a doctorate diploma in mathematics, died on Monday. He was 87.
The team said Ryan died while being cared for at a nursing home in Connecticut. There was no immediate cause of death given, but Ryan’s son, Frank Ryan Jr., told Cleveland.com that his father had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
In the 1964 title game, Ryan threw three touchdown passes to wide receiver Gary Collins as the Browns shocked Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas and the heavily favored Baltimore Colts 27-0 on Dec. 27. Cleveland hasn’t won a football championship since and remains one of four teams never to make the Super Bowl.
• Ken Bowman, who played center for the Green Bay Packers from 1964-73 and was part of three consecutive championship teams, has died. He was 81.
Bowman was part of the Packers’ NFL title-winning team in 1965, the year before the first Super Bowl, and the Super Bowl-winning teams of the next two seasons.
JETS: The New York Jets are waiving running back Dalvin Cook before the final game of the season against the Patriots, according to Cook’s agents LAA Sports & Entertainment.
The 28-year-old Cook had a disappointing tenure with the Jets, who signed the four-time Pro Bowl selection to a one-year deal worth $7 million – including $5.8 million guaranteed – during the summer.
NFL Network first reported Tuesday that the sides mutually agreed to part ways, citing Cook’s agents, who confirmed the move to The Associated Press. Cook will go through waivers and would become a free agent if he goes unclaimed.
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