New England Patriots links 1/19/24 – Getting coordinated: Finding fits for all three units

Daily news and links for Friday.

Jerod Mayo is in full staff-building mode. Plenty of writers are offering him to-do lists and suggestions to help get him started, including the call for new coordinators. We know Mayo has two defensive coordinator candidates lined up for interviews, which probably isn’t a good sign for Steve Belichick’s future in New England. We also learned that Bill O’Brien will be leaving to become the offensive coordinator role at Ohio State. That’s two down. Just by putting my finger to the wind, I’ll project Cameron Achord and Joe Judge will both be out of the organization soon too.

That’s a pretty clean sweep so far. The position coaching staff may have a better chance of remaining, depending on how well they can account for player production and results under their control. So far, so good. Would be nice, if not unrealistic, that these men get judged on the work they’ve done instead of for potential loyalty to the previous head coach or for being labeled as ‘a Bill Belichick hire’. We’ll find out soon enough.

What I will suggest is that everyone brought in, from wherever they came from, will all be put on the same page here. If Mayo lays out a cohesive vision for the team that brings all the coordinators and position coaches together on how to implement it, the Patriots should be good to go. Communication is key. The Panthers are the latest example of failing to do this. Owner David Tepper was lauded early on for his ‘outside the box’ hiring but there was no overall team vision for them to work under and chaos ensued.

It’s fair to assume Robert Kraft is more seasoned, and Jerod Mayo is too good a leader to fall into that trap. Let’s see how it goes as the key pieces get put in place.

TEAM TALK

• Alexandra Francisco talks with Jerod Mayo’s high school football coach, who knew he was destined for coaching long ago.
• Behind-the-scenes: Jerod Mayo’s first day as head coach. (1.36 min. video)
• Patriots Catch-22: Reaction to Jerod Mayo’s introductory press conference, NFL draft talk. (2 hours)
• Patriots Unfiltered: What’s next for New England, takeaways from Jerod Mayo’s introductory press conference, NFL playoffs picks. (2 hours)

LOCAL LINKS

• John Sarianides writes that according to a source, Bill O’Brien will leave New England. O’Brien has been in talks with Ohio State since last week to join Ryan Day’s staff as offensive coordinator. What’s next for the Patriots?
• Alex Barth tells us the names to know for the Patriots offensive coordinator job search.
• Andrew Callahan lists 10 candidates to replace Bill O’Brien as offensive coordinator, starting with Josh McDaniels.
• Karen Guregian advises Jerod Mayo to revamp the offensive scheme and bring in a modern offensive coordinator with new ideas.
• Chris Mason puts together a 7-step to-do list for Jerod Mayo as new Patriots coach. 1. Pick an offensive system.
• Geoff Magliocchetti picks 3 reasonable expectations for Mayo’s Patriots in 2024. 1. Win with defense.
• Alex Barth tells us the Patriots set interviews with two more defensive coordinator candidates: Broncos DB coach Christian Parker and Saints LB coach Michael Hodges.
• Greg Dudek relay’s Mike Reiss reporting breakout LB Mack Wilson underwent labrum surgery yesterday morning. ‘it was an injury he played through all season. Expectation is he will be ready for phase 2 of the offseason program.’
• Darren Hartwell highlights Tom E. Curran and Phil Perry offering insight on who is Robyn Glaser and what will her role be with the Patriots. According to Perry, Glaser could take on some of the responsibilities previously held by Berj Najarian, who was Bill Belichick’s “right-hand man”. /Finally, an explanation that makes sense.
• Mike D’Abate reports Patriots receivers coach Troy Brown has yet to learn his fate in Foxboro for 2024, but he has been named Offensive Coordinator for this year’s Senior Bowl.
• Greg Dudek relays NFL analyst Aaron Schatz making a bold prediction that the Patriots will land Colts wideout Michael Pittman Jr. through free agency this season.
• Chris Mason’s Patriots Mailbag: Jerod Mayo, offensive leadership, Mike Onwenu, best Bill Belichick press conference moments, and more.
• Pats Interference podcast: Andrew Callahan and Zack Cox discuss 4 takeaways from Jerod Mayo’s presser, ‘Kraft can’t say they picked the best candidate available … they didn’t know what the candidate pool was.’ Plus, Zack shares two of his favorite stories from covering the team for NESN the last 8 years. (53 min.)

NATIONAL NEWS

• John Breech (CBS Sports) 2024 NFL playoff schedule, bracket: Dates, times and TV for every round of NFC and AFC postseason.
• Staff (Football Zebras) Hussey, Kemp, Vinovich, and Hochuli are the Divisional Playoff referees.
• Jeremy Cluff (Arizona Republic) NFL Playoffs announcers: TV broadcasters, announcing crews for Divisional Rd.
• Tyler Sullivan (CBS Sports) 2024 NFL divisional round playoff picks: Patrick Mahomes bests Josh Allen yet again, Packers cover vs. 49ers.
• Sheil Kapadia (The Ringer) NFL Divisional-Round playoff picks against the spread.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) PFT’s 2023 NFL divisional round picks.
• Pete Prisco (CBS Sports) NFL playoff picks for divisional round: 2 underdogs win outright while a third nearly shocks top seed.
• Nick Shook (NFL.com) Previewing the NFL’s offseason QB market: Who’ll be on the move? Which teams need a new arm in 2024?
• Bucky Brooks (NFL.com) Scouts Notebook: 2023 NFL All-Rookie Team: Lions, Rams each boast four selections; Texans clearly nailed top-three picks.
• Myles Simmons (ProFootballTalk) Mike Vrabel meeting with Chargers, Falcons and Seahawks also interested.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Scouting Combine stays in Indianapolis through at least 2025.
• Ben Axelrod (Awful Announcing) NBC faces backlash for editing C.J. Stroud thanking Jesus out of social media clip.