By Alan Segel
NEFJ Contributor
FOXBOROUGH – The late Harry Truman, our 33rd president, had a saying ‘the buck stops here.’
On Monday, in the wake of Jerod Mayo being fired as Patriots head coach, ‘Give ’em Hell, Harry’ would have been proud of Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
“This whole situation is on me,” is what Robert Kraft said at the very beginning of his remarks Monday during a press conference to discuss why Jerod Mayo was let go. Kraft said, “I put (Mayo) in an untenable situation and I feel terrible.”
The firing came just minutes after Mayo addressed the media on Sunday following the 23-16 season ending win over the Bills. Mayo left the podium and walked directly into a meeting with Kraft and onto the unemployment line. The 4-13 season had taken its toll on everyone and it was especially difficult to accept for Kraft over the last month.
“I went back and forth,” said Kraft. “In my business I make certain decisions. I know when it is right and it just happened. It was very hard because of the personal relationship (built over 17 years) I feel for Jerod and the human being he is. I feel guilty I put him in that position. It was one of the more difficult things I’ve had to do in my life because I have such affection for him and I believe in him.”
Kraft felt, and still feels, Mayo has the tools to be a successful head coach in the NFL, but that he needed more time, in retrospect, before taking the job.
The Pats were inconsistent all year with very few sustained moments of good play. In fact, mistakes were the Patriots’ calling card as they just could not get out of their own way. A good offensive play would, more times than not, be called back for a hold or illegal formation. There were also many times a drive would not even get started until the obligatory false start penalty. The yellow laundry on the field was just part of the problem. On defense, the Patriots had extreme difficulty stopping the run. On Sunday – playing against mostly back-ups – the Patriots allowed 130 yards on the ground. It all added up to frustration for the fan base and the owner.
Kraft pointed out that “the high point of everything was winning the Cincinnati game.”
The problem with that though, is that win against the Bengals was in the first game of the year. It was game one of 17 and if game one is your high point, then everything is downhill from that juncture. Kraft certainly felt that and took notice.
“I guess the main thing for me is that we regressed,” said Kraft. “We had the high point then mid-season; I just think we started to regress. “I don’t like losing. I don’t like the way we lost. Things were not developing the way we would have liked. It was time to move on.”
Since January 21, 1994 Robert Kraft and his family have owned the New England Patriots. They are the team’s biggest fans, so he understands that his loyal fanbase became very aggravated and uneasy as loss after loss piled up this season.
“Since the day we bought this team, I realize what a privilege it was and how lucky we were as a family, that this is the only business we’re involved in where we see ourselves,” added Kraft. “We don’t own this team. It is owned by the fans of this region. We’re custodians of a very special asset of the community. That helps me try to make decisions that, if it was just personal, it would be different.”
The Patriots are now officially in the process of looking for a new coach and it appears that it will be a formal search. Reports on Monday by Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated stated the Patriots have asked for permission to talk with Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. The name of former Patriots linebacker and Patriots Hall of Famer Mike Vrabel is certainly in play and as the days move ahead, there will be more people added to the list.
I looked at past years in the NFL and it seems most new coaches are hired around January 21st. The timeline, if the Kraft’s adhere to it, means a new coach could be in place in about two weeks.
Kraft said that he and his son Jonathan (Patriots President), along with Eliot Wolf (Executive Vice President of Player Personnel) and Alonzo Highsmith (Senior Personnel Executive) will be involved in the search for the Patriots 16th head coach. It also means that, at this point, there are no changes being made in the area of player personnel.
Robert Kraft knows he has to get this right.
There will be no margin for error as the Patriots fan base – still uneasy and anxious – waits to see who will be leading their favorite team.
“I have to go out and find a coach who can get us back to the playoffs and hopefully, championships.” he said.