Another Lovie Smith? Patriots fire Jerod Mayo after blowing top pick on final day

Robert Kraft fired Jerod Mayo right after their final day win over the Bills which resulted in them losing out on the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Another Lovie Smith? Patriots fire Jerod Mayo after blowing top pick on final day

Jerod Mayo (Image via IMAGO)

The New England Patriots secured a hard-fought win over the AFC No. 2 seed Buffalo Bills on the final day but it wasn’t enough to save Jerod Mayo from getting fired. Mayo finished his tenure in Boston with a 4-13 record.

Both teams rested several starters for Sunday’s Foxborough finale but for different reasons. The Bills were comfortably through to the playoffs while the Patriots toiled in the bottom echelons of misery. Yet they still had one goal to play for: the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

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A defeat against the Bills was enough to guarantee the Patriots the top pick; however, a 16-23 win dropped them to fourth. The Tennessee Titans took over their spot in first.

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Shortly after the game ended, owner Robert Kraft announced on the Patriots X account that they had fired Jerod Mayo.

After the game today, I informed Jerod Mayo that he will not be returning as the head coach of the New England Patriots in 2025. For me, personally, this was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made. I have known Jerod for 17 years. He earned my respect and admiration.

Robert Kraft wrote in his statement via the Boston Globe.

As much as Kraft tried to make the parting words sound sad, fans were quick to compare Mayo’s firing with another infamous recent coaching debacle. According to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, the Houston Texans fired Lovie Smith in 2023 after he led the team to a final-day victory, which resulted in the franchise losing out on the top draft pick. 

Well, the only silver lining in all this is that the Texans drafted CJ Stroud, and now will play postseason football two years in a row. Perhaps the Patriots gain a similar sort of draft luck.

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Do the Patriots already have a Jerod Mayo replacement in their hands?

After Dan Campbell pulled the Detroit Lions from their eternal misery, many teams have attempted to replicate a similar philosophy. In retrospect, Mayo seemed to fall in the same category as being an ex-Patriot but he went in a very different direction and the Patriots also gave up on him after just one year whereas the Lions stuck with Campbell even after poor results in his first two seasons.

Another Lovie Smith Patriots fire Jerod Mayo after blowing top pick on final day
Jerod Mayo (Image via SI)

Regardless, what’s done is done and the Patriots must appoint a man who fits their philosophy and instills discipline in the team. There’s only one man who comes to mind for the job and that is Mike Vrabel. Like Mayo, Vrabel played for the Patriots in the early to mid-2000s. The 3x Super Bowl winner could be the savior Kraft needs.

Vrabel recently left the position of special consultant at the Cleveland Browns and before that served as the head coach of the Tennessee Titans for six seasons (four winning campaigns). He led the Titans to consecutive AFC South titles in 2020 and 2021 and has a winning record of 54 to 45 losses.

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If Kraft views Vrabel as the ideal replacement for Mayo, then he better move quickly. The New York Jets already interviewed the 49-year-old for their vacant head coach position. Now it depends on which owner will provide him with better control over the team.