FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Bill Belichick succession plan is in place.
The New England Patriots have hired Jerod Mayo as their next head coach, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Friday, a day after the team parted ways with Bill Belichick following his 24-year tenure in New England.
Our Phil Perry and Tom E. Curran reported Thursday that Mayo was in line to be the Patriots' next head coach, but it was unclear when Mayo officially would take the job. As NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reported Thursday, the Patriots "established a firm, contractual succession plan in a prior contract" with Mayo that allowed them to name Mayo the head coach whenever they saw fit, instead of going through the formal hiring process.
During Belichick's tenure, the Patriots dominated the AFC East, winning 17 division titles in a 19-year stretch. Belichick and Tom Brady won nine AFC Championships in their time together. Brady posted a thank you message to his long time coach on Instagram Thursday, calling him the best coach in the history of the NFL.
Mayo won a Super Bowl ring playing under Belichick and has interviewed for multiple head coaching vacancies since becoming a New England assistant in 2019. Mayo turned down a few interviews last offseason before signing a contract extension to remain with the Patriots.