Tom Brady endorsed new Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo on Tuesday, saying he believes Mayo will “do a great job.”

Brady and Mayo were teammates for the entirety of Mayo’s eight-year playing career from 2008-15. The ex-linebacker joined the Patriots’ coaching staff as a defensive assistant in 2019, Brady’s final year in New England. Owner Robert Kraft promoted Mayo to head coach on Jan. 12, a day after announcing the team would part ways with Bill Belichick.

“A great captain, a great friend, I think (Mayo) had a tremendous amount of success in football, and then had success in other parts of his life when he retired. And then him coming back into coaching, I think is great for the NFL,” Brady said on ESPN. “It’s certainly great for the Patriots. He’s got a great understanding of how things need to be done.

“I think Jerod does an incredible job relating to everybody in the locker room, all the coaches, and I think he’ll do a great job.”

Brady also called Mayo “a great leader” during his playing days. The two were co-captains for several years, when the Patriots won one Super Bowl and lost another.

Mayo is now charged with picking up the pieces after a 4-13 campaign, the franchise’s worst in three decades, and continues to assemble a new coaching staff heading into his first season as head coach.