Source: Boston Globe / Getty
The Bill Belichick era in New England is over, so Boston sports fans, whom greatness has spoiled for over two decades, have a new punching bag for their critiques.
The man who’ll do his very best to fill Belichick’s shoes will be Jerod Mayo, a member of the legendary coach’s lineage. Mayo has not only the pro of working with Belichick but also won the XLIX Super Bowl as a player during his 2008-2015 NFL career.
Since being promoted from his four-year gig as Inside linebackers coach, Mayo’s not only the new head coach but the first Black one in New England.
The coaching fraternity within the NFL is already predominantly white, so as a minority, the 37-year-old spoke about making history and what it means to him.
“You’d better believe being the first Black coach here in New England means a lot to me,” Mayo said at his introductory press conference. He later added, “I do see color because I believe if you don’t see color, you can’t see racism.”
After all, of the 32 teams in the NFL, there are only three other Black coaches: Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Todd Bowles of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and DeMeco Ryans of the Houston Texans.
During his introductory news conference, Wednesday’s race inadvertently came up again when Patriots owner Robert Kraft mispronounced his brother’s name, Shermont.
So Mayo approached it head-on with a joke that led to the entire room erupting in laughter, saying, “It’s all right. It’s one of those Black names.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Mayo revealed that despite Belichick’s eight Super Bowl-winning pedigree, he’s his own man.
“I’m not trying to be Bill. I think that Bill is his own man. If you can’t tell by now, I’m a little bit different even up here,” Mayo said. “But what I will say is the more I think about lessons I’ve taken from Bill, hard work works. Hard work works, and that’s what we’re all about.”
See how X is reacting to Mayo being appointed the newest New England Patriots coach.
