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Let’s get something straight. Robert Kraft is not going to admit he made a mistake in hiring Jerod Mayo and he is not going to fire him. We can stop wasting our time speculating about Mike Vrabel coming here or any other coach for that matter.
Assuming Kraft retains Mayo, he should come out and publicly support the embattled coach after the season and lay out his vision for how he will support him and the front office to turn things around. If Kraft does not do this, then he is not interested in actually fixing the situation.
Simply putting out a generic statement about this season not living up to the “standard” is not enough. The Patriots have had losing seasons in three of the past four years. The standard left with Tom Brady when he departed in 2020. Instead, Kraft needs to tell the fans what he plans to do to turn things around. If he cannot rely the message, then his son and heir apparent Jonathan Kraft should.
It is important that Kraft is proactive and not reactive. With that said, you cannot ask the fans to be patience. The fans patience has worn thin. Gillette Stadium was at 75% capacity on Saturday and there will be even less people there next Sunday for the season finale against the Bills. The fans have spoken and they are tired of the losing.
If the intention is to retain Mayo, then changes need to be made with his staff. That is why publicly supporting him out of the gate is important. Other assistants around the league need to know he is not just a lame duck. If changes are made, you want to be able to attract other coaches.
Aside from changes on the coaching staff, changes to the front office should be made as well. I do not think Eliot Wolf gets fired but I would think some sort of a shake up either before or after the draft is coming. Like Mayo, Kraft should give Wolf a public vote of confidence as well.
Kraft made his bed last off season by hiring Mayo and Wolf without going through a formal interview process. He identified Belichick as the problem and parted ways with him. At the time, many people questioned the decision to stay in house. Now, the people who were clamoring for a process were right. Kraft did the organization a disservice by not going through the process and bringing in outside candidates. Now he is stuck.
Kraft has to live with it and fix it and while the easiest way to fix it might be to clean house, Kraft has to resist the urge and stick to supporting Mayo while at the same time trying to right the ship.
It will not be an easy sell for this beleaguered fan base, but Kraft needs to get ahead of things and chart a course forward. He has to be pragmatic and measured in his approach. He cannot try to save face. He has to solve the problems he created. Being transparent and taking responsibility is the best way to do that.
If Kraft cannot do that, then he needs to clean house and start over. Sitting idly by is no longer acceptable. How he responds will have major ramifications for the franchise moving forward.