Patriots Legend Slams New England Over 'BS' Coaching Decision

The New England Patriots made a lot of headlines after their Week 18 win over the Buffalo Bills. The Pats lost out on the chance of grabbing the No. 1 overall pick and then fired first-year head coach Jerod Mayo.

The decision to fire Mayo was tough for owner Robert Kraft, but the first-time head coach didn’t get a lot of leeway to go through the growing pains and get a second chance in 2025.

Instead, the Pats made a mockery of the Rooney Rule by interviewing Pep Hamilton and Byron Leftwich for their head coach vacancy. Then they ultimately interviewed Mike Vrabel days later and hired him as the next head coach. New England fans are excited about Vrabel being back with the franchise after spending eight years as a player.

However, one of his former teammates is not pleased with how the Patriots went about filling the head coach spot.

"I think it was BS to pull that. And knowing Jerod personally, I know the conversations, Patriots legend Vince Wilfork told Fox News Digital (via Adam London of NESN.com). I know what it is. It’s just hard to fathom, but that’s the business when you deal with certain people. I think it was unfair."

Wilfork, who spent 11 years in New England, playing with Mayo and Vrabel, also mentioned that he thought the Vrabel hire was the best the Pats could’ve done.

At the same time, Wilfork is not wrong in his assessment as the Pats didn’t give Mayo the tools he needed to be successful. He found the team’s next franchise QB in Drake Maye, but the rest of the roster wasn’t spectacular.

It didn’t help how the Patriots played over the last month and the reported behind-the-scenes stuff, which came out after Mayo’s firing. That said, it would’ve been interesting to see if Mayo improved in his second year as a head coach after seeing up close what it takes to be an NFL head coach.

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