The Patriots are hiring linebackers coach Jerod Mayo to become their next head coach, according to reports.

Mayo, 37, becomes the youngest head coach in the NFL. He recently concluded his fifth season as a coach at any level, having rejoined the organization as an assistant in 2019. Mayo has spent the entirety of his NFL career in New England, where first played from 2008-2015.

According to a source, during a renegotiation of Mayo’s contract last January, the Patriots included a clause that established a succession plan if and when the franchise parted ways with Bill Belichick. That clause allows Mayo to succeed Belichick without the Patriots conducting a full head-coaching search under normal league rules. Belichick and owner Robert Kraft announced a parting of ways Thursday.

The Patriots are likely to begin a search for the next head of their personnel department, a job Belichick also held during his 24-year run as coach.

This story is developing …