Here’s a name you didn’t have on your list of potential candidates.
The Eagles this week are reportedly expected to interview Patriots inside linebacker coach Jerod Mayo for their head coaching position.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Philadelphia sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Yes, this is the same Jerod Mayo who was the No. 10 overall pick back in the 2008 draft. He had a long and successful career as an NFL linebacker but didn’t get into coaching until 2019. He’s 34.
Four years after his playing career was over, Bill Belichick hired Mayo last season to be his inside linebackers coach and he’s spent just two seasons as a position coach. So this would be a pretty shocking hire. As Rapoport said, this would be Mayo’s first head coaching interview.
But Belichick clearly thinks a lot of Mayo. According to this MassLive story, Mayo in 2019, at 33, became the first Patriots position coach hired by Belichick without a year of coaching in New England or elsewhere.
And my esteemed colleague at NBC Sports Boston, Tom E. Curran, certainly thinks a lot of Mayo. Here’s what he said about him in August of 2019:
NFL
"I really have a feeling that, when it's all said and done, if Jerod Mayo wants to coach the New England Patriots after Bill Belichick, that might be something the Krafts would like to see happen."
So maybe this interview isn’t as crazy as it seems on paper. And, remember, the Eagles also have a defensive coordinator position open. So perhaps if Mayo doesn’t take the HC job, the Eagles might be able to convince him to take the DC job.
Mayo played eight seasons in the NFL, all with the Patriots, and was a Super Bowl champion, made two Pro Bowls and was an All-Pro in 2010. But his entire playing career and now his entire coaching career has been in New England, so he might find it harder to hire a good staff. If the Eagles were to hire Mayo, you can expect the Eagles’ front office to “help” him find coaches to fill out the staff.
Mayo in the last couple days is the third defensive coach the Eagles will reportedly try to interview. The other two are Robert Saleh and Todd Bowles. If the Eagles hire a defensive-minded coach, they will still need to find a top-notch offensive coordinator and play-caller.
Subscribe to the Eagle Eye podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | Watch on YouTube