FOXBOROUGH – Six days ago, there was a bit of ‘we’re at a wake’ feel as media members filed in for the Bill Belichick-Robert Kraft press conference to end an era.

On Wednesday, there was a more exciting, almost festive mood as 17-20 TV cameras and dozens of reporters, former teammates, present players and family members made their way into the giant lighthouse and up to the new G-P Atrium for Jerod Mayo’s introductory press conference as the 15th head coach in Patriots history.

Fittingly, change was in the air as winds whipped around on this frigid morning.

For those worried that Mayo is going to fail like other Belichick disciples, you can rest a little easier knowing you won’t have to worry about him trying to be or act like Bill.

Mayo joked, laughed, and was honest about his approach – although we didn’t get many actual football details schematically or staff wise just yet. It’s clear that Mayo is his own guy and will embrace open lines of communication.

“For me, I’m not trying to be Bill. I’m not trying to be Bill,” he said during a roughly 30-minute Q&A session. “I think that Bill is his own man. If you can’t tell by now, I’m a little bit different even up here. 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…I would say here the culture starts at the top. Mr. Kraft and the family, it starts at the top. But, it also has to permeate throughout the organization…I took a break, I went to Optum. I needed a break from Bill, went to Optum for about four years, and I came back. One thing I came back with – I learned a lot at Optum – Larry Renfrow, Mike Matteo, those guys, I learned a lot about diversity, about diversity and inclusion. You’d better believe being the first Black coach here in New England means a lot to me. But, those guys taught me you have to take ideas from other people, Black, white, green, yellow. Really doesn’t matter. Old, young…

“One thing you’ll notice about me in our interaction as we continue to go, is I don’t like echo chambers. I want people around me that are going to question my ideas or yes question the way we have done things in the past because realistically this game is a lot different than when I was drafted in 2008. At the same time, that’s why I try to spend so much time developing young men and young women. I don’t want to teach them what to think, I want to teach them how to think. Once we get to that point, I think we can get back to where we need to be, at the top. I’m an open book. I’m honored. I’m ready to go. I’m excited to be the next head coach of the Patriots.”

At 12:01 – just minutes after Mac Jones, Joe Cardona, Ja’Whaun Bentley, Jonathan Jones, Rob Ninkovich, Devin McCourty and others entered – Mayo and Kraft walked in side-by-side as cameras clicked and reporters grabbed video, sitting down together on a small stage with two Patriots helmets in front of them.

Mayo was asked what it meant to have present and former players on hand.

“Yeah, when I was made official, my phone was buzzing off the hook. If I didn’t text some of the guys back. I apologize. I’ll get to it here hopefully soon,” he said with a laugh. “The guys have been great. The guys have been great. Once again, it’s all about the players. One thing I took from — another thing I took from Coach Belichick, he would always say that players win games and coaches lose games, and it’s our job as coaches to put the players in the position to go out there and play to their strengths.”

It goes without saying that Mayo’s staff building process and the collaborative effort deciding who the GM will be are critical decisions, but perhaps the biggest highlight of just how different the approach is came when Mayo talked about the importance job titles and people understanding their roles.

“I think it’s important. I think titles are important, and I know – no knock to Coach Belichick who has been a huge mentor to me over the years as a player and as a colleague – what I would say is, I believe titles are important outward-looking, but as far as in the building, I don’t care what your title is. It’s what’s your job, what value do you bring to the organization. I think that’s the most important thing. Sometimes I think in business, in sports, people get caught up in titles, but I also understand the other side. If you want to continue to get promoted, people have to know exactly what you do. But like I said earlier, inside, it’s all about collaboration. That’s what Thunder (RKK) talked about, and that’s what I’m about, as well.”

The Seth Wickersham piece that dropped last week highlighted how dysfunctional things had become with Belichick here. An hour into the Mayo era, it was clear that everyone’s voice will matter moving forward.

Weather this all works out or not remains to be seen, but things are much different already at 1 Patriot Place.