As recently as this week, it seemed that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and team president Jonathan Kraft would stick with first-year head coach Jerod Mayo for another season even though the Patriots will enter the weekend at 3-11.
However, NFL insider Dianna Russini of The Athletic became the latest to suggest ahead of New England’s game at the 11-3 Buffalo Bills on Sunday that the Krafts could experience a change of heart by Week 18.
“I believe that Jerod Mayo needs to put out a really good coaching performance to wrap up the season,” Russini explained on the latest edition of her “Scoop City” podcast, NESN’s Keagan Stiefel shared. “… I don’t think they’re looking at this, like, ‘This season doesn’t matter.’ I think they want to see that he can do it, but a lot of owners are hesitant to make moves unless they feel like they’ve got a better option. You have to wonder if [Robert Kraft] thinks there’s someone out there that could come in and possibly be better.”
The Patriots’ “absolute disaster” of a performance in last Sunday’s 30-17 loss at the Arizona Cardinals, coupled with Mayo making some controversial post-game comments about offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt regarding a sequence of play in that contest, left some who cover the team believing the Krafts could already have an upgrade in mind. Specifically, Patriots insider Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston (h/t Darren Hartwell) reported this week that former New England player and one-time Associated Press Coach of the Year Award winner Mike Vrabel “would be interested in coaching” the AFC East club.
Patriots/NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated said in a mailbag posted on Thursday that he didn’t think the Krafts would “or should” fire Mayo “unless they have a good idea that they can get someone like Mike Vrabel.”
As of Friday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Patriots as massive 14-point underdogs against the Bills. If New England is embarrassed at Highmark Stadium, the Krafts could at least call Vrabel, assuming they haven’t already.
