Jerod Mayo will formally be announced as the 15th Patriots head coach in a press conference Wednesday at noon.
Team owner Robert Kraft wasted no time in coming out with a statement that Mayo was going to be his next coach one day after parting ways with Bill Belichick.
The Patriots were able to sidestep going through the usual interview process before hiring a head coach thanks to a putting a stipulation in Mayo’s contract last year naming him as Belichick’s successor whenever that came to pass and filing that with the league.
Ted Johnson, a three-time Super Bowl winner with the team, had mixed feelings about the Krafts sticking in that clause, but ultimately understands what went behind making such a move.
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“A lot of people want to put the way things went down this season on Kraft because of him undermining Bill and putting it in writing that Jerod Mayo was his successor,” Johnson said on the latest “Eye on Foxborough” podcast. “It’s a fascinating thing to talk about … To say that was a big reason that’s why the team played the way it did is overstated.
“If you’re the Krafts, and you feel Jerod is the guy that you want to lead this team after Bill Belichick leaves, I don’t have as big of a problem with it as some people do,” Johnson went on. “Some people say you really screwed yourself with the process, not allowing yourself to see what was out there. But if your inclinations are so strong that you think he’s the next guy, I don’t have a problem with what the Kraft’s did. I really don’t … I’m trusting Robert Kraft’s instincts on this. He got it right the last time.”
Johnson, a local radio personality, has met Mayo just once, but was impressed by that meeting, and from everything he knows, is willing to give the Patriots first-time head coach a chance to turn things around.
“Just based on conversations I’ve had about Jerod, and my one interaction with Jerod, it’s safe to say he has what I think is the most important quality, or characteristic to be a head coach in today’s NFL, and that’s a high level of interpersonal skills,” said Johnson. “His ability to talk, to convey his thoughts, to get the most out of people, to inspire people, to make people feel comfortable is everything I’ve heard about Jerod, along with my personal experience with him.
“That’s half the battle. How you get guys to believe in you, to trust you, to feel like you have their back, that’s you’re going to be someone they trust. Trust is a huge issue. In the NFL.”
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