If you look at the Patriots roster handed out for Day 1 of OTA’s on Monday, you’d see a whopping 31 coaches listed down the bottom of the large sheet of paper.

While the number may seem staggering, it really isn’t in today’s NFL. The only reason it looks and feels that way to folks around here is because of how small the Bill Belichick staffs were for the last 24 years. That’s not a knock on Belichick’s staff assembly because it clearly worked for a long time, it’s just fact.

During his 10-minute press conference prior to his first voluntary OTA as a head coach, I asked Jerod Mayo why he chose to have so many coaches involved. Ultimately, he believes the team is just playing catch up to the rest of the league with how things are done in 2024.

“Yeah, you know, the thing about it is that’s an interesting dynamic, or an interesting conversation with so many coaches on the staff,” he said. “What I will say, historically, we have always had a small staff, and so now it feels like a lot of coaches out here, but really that brings us back to par, realistically.”

There’s also a local dynamic on the staff as well with former BC linebacker Vinny DePalma and Rhode Island defensive back Coby Tippett (son of Hall of Fame Andre Tippett) getting their first coaching opportunity under Mayo. DePalma is listed as a ‘defensive coaching assistant’ while Tippett is serving as a ‘special teams coaching assistant.’ Why did Mayo want them as part of his first NFL staff?

“Yeah, they are hard workers,” he answered. “I think that, first and foremost, has to be something that we focus on, is having guys, “grinders” is what we call our guys, are here at 6:00 in the morning and leave here when work is done. They have done a great job for us.”

While many may claim that Mayo is flirting with the dangerous prospect of having ‘too many cooks in the kitchen,’ there is a role for everyone – no matter how big or small – as this now young organization tries to grow together and restore respect from opponents, the national media and fans.