Patriots legend addresses Jerod Mayo job-security rumors

Whispers continue to hover over the 3-10 New England Patriots, suggesting that first-year head coach Jerod Mayo may need to earn at least one win over the season’s final four weeks to keep his job through the winter. 

Patriots icon and Hall of Famer Ty Law seems convinced team owner Robert Kraft will run it back with Mayo regardless of what happens through Week 18. 

“I think Mr. Kraft is a smart enough businessman to give him time,” Law said about Mayo’s short-term future during a Tuesday appearance on Boston sports radio station WEEI, Nick O’Malley of MassLive shared. “How much time? I don’t know, but he’s definitely secure for next season.” 

Mayo’s first season in charge has been filled with positives for a rebuilding Patriots team that was never supposed to compete for much. New England players have continued to play hard for Mayo following a previous claim about a potential locker-room mutiny. Rookie Drake Maye has looked capable of becoming a franchise quarterback sooner rather than later. Additionally, the Patriots are inching toward possibly having the first pick in next year’s draft. 

Robert Kraft and team president Jonathan Kraft reportedly remain high on Mayo even though the 38-year-old has made some understandable mistakes on gamedays. Law hinted that Mayo needs another offseason to get “his own guys in” the locker room and move on from some who played under living legend Bill Belichick. 

“When I think Mr. Kraft went in,” Law said, “of course he wanted better. The expectations were more than what we got. But I think that he didn’t have expectations as far as, like, we’re gonna go to the playoffs or be a Super Bowl contender when he [hired Mayo]. You’ve got to give him a chance.”

Outsiders can’t say with any certainty whether or not the Krafts would change their minds about giving Mayo a second year if the team finishes the season at 3-14. All Mayo can do is try to stack wins beginning with this coming Sunday’s matchup at the 6-7 Arizona Cardinals. 

As of Tuesday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Patriots as 4.5-point underdogs against the Cardinals.