New England Patriots Fire Jerod Mayo After 1 Season As Head Coach

FOXBOROUGH, MA — New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft fired head coach Jerod Mayo on Sunday afternoon shortly after the coach won the final game of his only season leading the team.

The Patriots went 4-13 in Mayo's first — and only — season and were in line for the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming draft before Mayo coached the team to a 23-16 victory against the Buffalo Bills in the season finale.

"For me, personally, this was one of the hardest decisions I have made," Kraft said in a statement late Sunday afternoon. "I have known Jerod for 17 years. He earned my respect and admiration as a rookie in 2008 and throughout his career for his play on the field, his leadership in the locker room and the way he has conducted himself in our community."

Kraft and the Patriots designagted Mayo as the "heir apparent" coach to Bill Belichick and named him to the position shortly after separating from the six-time Super Bowl champion coach at the end of last season.

Kraft said on Sunday that when teams began requesting interviews for Mayo when he was the Patriots' linebackers coach he "feared I would lose him and committed to making him our head coach."

But after an impressive season-opening victory against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Patriots stumbled badly with Kraft allowing on Sunday "unfortunately, the trajectory of our team's performance throughout the season did not ascend as I had hoped."

Kraft said of the back-to-back 4-win seasons: "I have given much thought and consideration as to what actions I can take to expedite our return to championship contention and determined this move was the best option at this time."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)