The New England Patriots’ decision to fire head coach Jerod Mayo after just one season might have been a polarizing one, but Bill Simmons is just fine with the move.
In fact, he wishes it would have happened sooner.
The Patriots fired the former linebacker-turned-head coach on Sunday following a disappointing 2024 campaign in which New England amassed a 4-13 record. Entering Week 18’s matchup against the Buffalo Bills at 3-13, the Patriots were in pole position for the No. 1 overall pick — only to inexplicably win the game and fall to fourth in the 2025 NFL Draft order.
The victory proved to be a worst-case-scenario for Simmons, who had already gotten himself excited for the possibility of his favorite football team either taking Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter first overall or trading the top selection for a boatload of assets. Instead, New England will be picking three spots later in each round, with the Sports Guy repeatedly joking that the Patriots received a player named “Jack Shit” in return for the slide.
Yet despite his issues with Mayo throughout his lone season as New England’s coach, Simmons’ issue on Sunday wasn’t with the 2008 Defensive Rookie of the Year. Rather, The Ringer founder doesn’t understand why he was even in a position to coach the Patriots in such a crucial must-lose game.
“The thing that kills me is they fire the coach right after the game. They knew they were going to do that for at least a week,” Simmons said. “So you’re letting this guy — basically he’s trying to win and the offensive coordinator, they’re trying to win because they don’t know if they’re gonna be there. They’re trying to coach for their jobs.
“You gotta get rid of those guys if you know you’re gonna get rid of them after the game. Why not get rid of them before the game? Why not put this decision in the hands of people who care about the big long-term picture of the franchise instead of trying to win the game?”
To Simmons’ point, the Patriots clearly knew they were going to move forward with firing Mayo before Sunday’s game — otherwise, why would they have fired him after a win? And while the optics of firing Mayo before the regular-season finale certainly wouldn’t have been great — and surely would have raised questions about tanking — it’s not as if keeping him employed through Week 18 has shielded New England from any criticism in the wake of Sunday’s firing.
Ultimately, it appears the Patriots found themselves in no-man’s land, with the possibility of hiring another former New England linebacker in Mike Vrabel providing a potential safety valve to the once-proud franchise. Nevertheless, ending the 2024 campaign with a win — when it was what Patriots fans like Simmons wanted the least — felt like a fitting conclusion to Mayo’s disastrous lone season in charge of his former team.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.