6 takeaways from Robert Kraft’s comments on Jerod Mayo’s firing

Patriots

Robert Kraft spoke about the guilt he felt, the move he made, and his plan to move on.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft made his decision to fire Jerod Mayo rather quickly.

Shortly after the Patriots’ win over Buffalo in their season finale on Sunday, he had a statement ready to go out to the public.

On Monday, Kraft told reporters that he felt bad for Mayo who lasted just one season and less than a calendar year as head coach of the Patriots.

He said his relationship with Mayo made the decision one of the hardest he has ever made. He reiterated his belief that one day, Mayo will be a successful coach, but also conceded that he needed more time and experience to grow into the role.

Instead of providing that time here in New England, Kraft cut his losses and decided to move on.

Here are six takeaways from his comments about the firing.

Mayo was put in an ‘untenable’ position

There’s no question that Mayo was put in a tough spot.

He matched Bill Belichick‘s record from last season and lost his job anyway. He inherited a team that had holes throughout the roster.

Kraft took the blame for the situation, saying that he felt bad for putting Mayo in such a position.

“I’m going to be very brief here and say that this whole situation is on me,” Kraft said. “I feel terrible for Jerod, because I put him in an untenable situation. I know that he has all the tools as a head coach to be successful in this league; he just needed more time before taking the job.”

“It was very hard because of the personal relationship I feel for Jerod and the human being he is. I feel guilty that I put him in that position.”

There was, outside of promising rookie quarterback Drake Maye, little star power to work with. The offensive line was porous. The receivers were unproductive. The pass-rush lacked punch. The run defense regressed. The talent gap between the Patriots and most of their AFC counterparts was sizable.

And then, there was Mayo’s inexperience. He had never been a head coach or a coordinator before taking this job. Despite this, he was expected to rejuvenate a franchise that suffered from years of poor drafting and regression from his predecessor.

It was a tough spot, but Mayo’s performance was not enough to convince the Patriots’ ownership to give him second chance.

Team’s regression put Kraft over the edge

The big issue that Kraft had with Mayo, he said, is that the team did not seem to be getting better as the season went on.

The Patriots started off strong with a win against Cincinnati and a competitive overtime loss against Seattle in the first two weeks.

But, things unraveled as the team fell into not one, but two, six-game losing streaks over the course of the year.

“In the important decisions in my life, I’ve always said that I measure nine times and cut once and this was one of those situations,” Kraft said. “I guess the main thing for me is, I felt that we regressed. The high point of everything for me was the Cincinnati game, and then mid-season I just think we started to regress.”

Kraft said the franchise has endured a rough couple of years and that he didn’t want to have a similar experience. The second-half of the season told him that things weren’t going in the right direction.

Eliot Wolf will stay

Kraft said members of the front office, including Executive Vice President of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf, will remain in their roles.

“We are looking for people working together, and they will be staying on,” Kraft said.

Kraft said he is looking for a big improvement from the front office staff next season, noting that the Patriots have struggled at drafting for a while. He said the team has changed it’s grading system and that the department has evolved a lot.

That said, this upcoming draft will be an important one for the future of the franchise.

How Mayo reacted to the news

Kraft said Mayo did not know until after Sunday’s game that he would be fired. Mayo had his postgame press conference and the news broke shortly after.

Kraft was asked how Mayo handled the news.

“He was a man,” Kraft said. “Look — it was one of the more difficult things I’ve had to do in my life because I’e has such an affection for him and I believe in him. I really do believe that he will go on and as he gets more experience he’ll be successful. It was not easy. He was a gentleman and accepted it that way.”

New coach will have input on staff

Mayo is out, but many of the positions on the coaching staff have yet to be decided.

Kraft said he plans to move fast in hiring a new head coach and that the new coach will have a significant amount of say as to who he works with.

“We’ll wait until we bring that coach in,” Kraft said. “Obviously, he’s going to have big input on who the players are and who the coaches are. It’ll be his decision.”

Kraft sidesteps question on Vrabel

Former Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel is reportedly expected to be a front-runner for the vacant head coaching position.

Kraft was asked if Vrabel is at the top of his list.

“Before I make a comment like that, I don’t know all the people involved,” Kraft said, “There are some wonderful people that we have heard about, so I’d rather respond to that after I’ve seen everyone.”