FOXBORO — Jerod Mayo stepped inside a reshaped corner of Gillette Stadium for his first press conference of the offseason, a towel draped around his neck and a smile spread across his face,
Change surrounded him.
A short walk away, renovations continued on the stadium. A few steps closer, construction on the team’s new headquarters neared completion. Through a door to his left, new colleagues on the offensive coaching staff kept busy.
But Mayo smiled because of what remained constant, through all the franchise turmoil and chances to leave: his family and football.
“It would take a lot for me to leave,” said Mayo, referring to his new contract. “This is where I want to be, and I feel the same way from the coaching staff and also from the Kraft family.”
In January, Mayo declined interviews for the head-coach vacancy in Carolina and defensive coordinator job in Cleveland. Around that time, the Patriots released an unprecedented statement announcing they had engaged in contract talks to retain him. Bill Belichick then allowed Mayo to sit during the interviews he conducted while reshaping his offensive coaching staff, which started with the return of Bill O’Brien.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft said last month he hopes Mayo becomes a head coach in New England one day, and other members of the organization expect him to eventually succeed Belichick. In the meantime, Mayo declined to say whether he had a new title or offer many specifics on how his role has changed, aside from saying he’ll again coach defense and work with the linebackers.
“I would say I’m confident that I will grow here. Where that leads, I’m not sure. Hopefully I’m here for the foreseeable future, but we’ll just have to see,” Mayo said. “I am confident in the plan they put together as far as my development is concerned. There’s still a lot that I don’t know and I’m very aware of that.”
Mayo reiterated his belief in the organization’s beliefs and methods, saying the Patriots “do it right here.” To prepare for his head-coaching opportunity one day, he said he’s worked to connect with employees beyond the coaching staff and locker room, including scouts, salary cap managers and team researchers.
“I’m excited. I’m excited to continue to grow,” the 37-year-old said. “I’m excited to continue to learn new things, not only X’s and O’s. That’s only a small part of it. I’m just excited, and honestly, I’m just trying to be a sponge and learn as much as I can when I’m in those meetings that I’m not normally in.”
Mayo originally joined the Patriots as a first-round rookie linebacker out of Tennessee in 2008, the last time the team drafted as highly as they’re about to pick next week at 14th overall. After retiring in 2015, he returned to the organization as its new inside linebackers coach four years later and became the first Patriots position coach ever hired by Belichick without a year of experience coaching in the NFL or major college ranks.
Since the end of the 2020 season, Mayo has been vocal about his ultimate goal of becoming a head coach. He interviewed for the Eagles’ head-coaching position in 2021, then the Broncos’ job in Jan. 2022. Recently, Kraft declared Mayo has “no ceiling” on his potential as a headman.
Yet for as much as the Patriots have done to keep him as an assistant, offering a new contract, salary and responsibilities, his motivation remains the same.
Does Jerod Mayo want to be a head coach one day soon?
“Absolutely,” he said Tuesday. “100 percent.”