Patriots Rumors: Jerod Mayo Could Be Fired Depending on Results of Final 4 Games

Amid Jerod Mayo's first year as the New England Patriots head coach, some sources believe his future could be at stake over the final four games.

Per Boston Sports Journal's Greg A. Bedard, organizational sources said Mayo could get fired if the Patriots aren't at least somewhat competitive to close out the season.

"If they get blown out in all four games, I think all options are on the table," one source said.

The Patriots dropped to 3-10 after losing to the Indianapolis Colts last Sunday and are threatening to finish with fewer wins than they did a season ago in Bill Belichick's last year at the helm. New England has a tough slate to close out the season, taking on the Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams and the Buffalo Bills twice.

Bedard said on 98.5 The Sports Hub that team owner Robert Kraft wouldn't hesitate to fire a coach after just one season, but he would only do so if he had another coach to hire in mind.

"I don't think that's true. People around Robert do not believe that it's true," he said (1:25 mark). "Depending on how it looks at the end of the season, he could come to the realization—and I do think that it would have to be somebody that maybe they had an inkling had on the line, say a Mike Vrabel kind of guy."

Mayo has been with the Patriots organization in some capacity for most of the last two decades. He played for the team from 2008 to 2015 and returned as a coach starting in 2019. When he was promoted to head coach before the 2024 season, he had big shoes to fill after Belichick won six championships.

While there was likely an expectation that it would take time to start moving in the right direction, a worse record than the 2023 season would indicate a step backward.

Mayo could, of course, end talks of his firing by performing well against a handful of good teams over the next few weeks.