Ugly Behind-the-Scenes Jerod Mayo Details Leak After Patriots Firing

The New England Patriots surprised many on Sunday with their decision to fire head coach Jerod Mayo after the team's Week 18 win. Mayo's poor HC traits were on full display throughout the season, which put him on the chopping block, but this move still comes as a shock given his struggles could've been written off as only bumps in the road for the first-year decision-maker.

However, new details regarding Mayo's brief tenure have arisen following the news of his firing, and they do not reflect kindly on the now-former Patriots head coach.

First it was the Boston Herald's Doug Kyed who shed some light on how things went under Mayo. Kyed reports that team sources claimed there was a "poor culture with a lack of leadership," especially when it came to "decisive decisions."

The Athletic's Jeff Howe then relayed some Mayo thoughts from staffers who worked for the previous regime in New England and were resistant to the former linebacker being hired. They told Howe that their doubts about Mayo taking over were connected to his lack of "experience [in] game planning, involvement in play calling, [and] handling bigger situational decisions."

In addition, they say this dreadful season went "about what we thought" given their perception of Mayo's shortcomings.

Gathering all of this information together, it's no wonder the Mayo experiment failed catastrophically. He lacked numerous qualities that teams look for in prospective head coaches, as the league often wants to see smart decision-making and play-calling from coordinators looking to make the jump to HC.

Of course, there's also organizations that instead want a "leader of men" type who empowers the talent on the coaching staff and roster to produce results. Mayo checked that box given his respect within the Pats and the fact players plead for his return, but the annoyingly frequent gameday miscues from the first-year coach greatly reduced his impact.

One also can't be a leader and struggle to make the big decisions. Mayo regularly failed in this vital function of his job, and it felt like any success was in spite of him as a coach. This, coupled with him walking back numerous comments made publicly, calls into question how good of a "leader of men" he was while serving as head coach.

It'd be no surprise if he does latch on with another team as a defensive coordinator or even goes on to succeed in his second stint as an HC someday. But it's obvious Mayo was not the right choice for New England right now, and the team will now seek out a proper fit for a squad with a promising future if it plays its cards right.

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