Former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was not happy Sunday evening when he learned his former team had fired first-year head coach Jerod Mayo.
“I was shocked by that,” Gronkowski said on FOX’s halftime show, “that it happened that soon. It was a shocker to a lot of people, especially here at the desk, we were all surprised by that. I think it was unfair to coach Jerod Mayo. I mean, he had never had the chance to develop as a head coach. He was just a rookie himself in that department and if you judge a coach by their first year, that’s really not appropriate.”
Ironically, Gronkowski on the FOX desk sat next to Jimmy Johnson, who went 1-15 in his first season as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys with rookie quarterback Troy Aikman in 1989. Johnson then won consecutive Super Bowls in 1992-93.
On Sunday, Mayo won his last game, a 23-16 home victory over the Bills. The head coach finished his first season 4-13, last in the AFC East. Just three weeks, Dianna Russini reported owner Robert Kraft had privately assured those close to him that he was committed to Mayo. But New England proceeded to lose three straight, including a disappointing 40-7 setback at home against the Chargers last week.
A former linebacker, Mayo played eight years and 111 games for the Patriots from 2008-2015, including eight postseason games and a Super Bowl win. During his rookie season in 2008, Mayo played with Mike Vrabel in New England.
Some are speculating the Patriots made the move with Mayo in order to entice Vrabel to return to New England, where he played from 2001-08 and helped the Patriots win three Super Bowls. The hottest name in the coaching market, Vrabel could have plenty of competition from the Raiders should Las Vegas choose to move on from Antonio Pierce. Vrabel’s former Patriots teammate, Tom Brady, is now a minority owner with the Raiders.
New England started Drake Maye on Sunday but the rookie played just one series. After Von Miller sacked him on third down early in the first quarter, Mayo pulled the quarterback and replaced him with another rookie, Joe Milton. New England’s sixth-round selection in the 2024 draft, Milton immediately led the Patriots on two touchdown drives. After Buffalo had taken a 16-14 lead midway through the third quarter, Milton confidently led the Patriots from behind.
He finished his first NFL game 22 of 29 for 241 yards and no interceptions with a fantastic 48-yard touchdown pass to Kayshon Boutte. Milton also put the Patriots on the board with his first NFL touchdown, a diving 9-yard run – punctuating the memorable play with a perfect backflip.
Buffalo, meanwhile, finished 13-4. The Bills officially started quarterback Josh Allen on Sunday but the MVP front-runner took just one snap, handing off to James Cook, before head coach Sean McDermott relegated him to the bench for the game’s duration. Still, the Bills became the first team in NFL annals with at least 30 touchdown passes and 30 rushing touchdowns in a season.
Having already secured the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs, the Bills will host the Broncos next week should Denver beat Kansas City on Sunday.
For more information on the Patriots and Bills, visit the New England and Buffalo team pages at ProFootballPost.com.
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