Rob Gronkowski Is Latest Former Patriotr to Sing Praises of Jerod Mayo

Former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski and their current head coach Jerod Mayo played together for the Patriots from 2010 to 2015, when Mayo was a linebacker for the team. Gronkowski was drafted in 2010, and Mayo played in New England from 2008-2015.

In that time, Gronkowski got to play a lot of football with Mayo, and Gronkowski’s latest comments offered a glowing review of the new Patriots head coach, who took over for the iconic Bill Belichick this offseason (via Games With Names Podcast):

Jerod Mayo was just a phenomenon on the football field with lining every one up and then also in the meeting rooms as well. He knew where every player needed to be during any situation that occurred on the defensive side of the ball. He knew how to read offenses.

He knew when to call out plays, and he was always correct when he was calling the play out, or else he was just making the whole defense aware when that play was going to be called that they were looking out for, or what type of run was going to be run at the offensive side of the ball. He was just always alert. You could always tell that was going to translate into the next phase of his life.

Mayo was the No. 10 overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft out of Tennessee. He was named Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2008 after racking up 128 tackles and five tackles for loss.

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Looking Back at Gronkowski and Mayo’s Careers

Mayo was the No. 10 overall pick by the Patriots in 2008

Throughout his career, Mayo struggled to stay on the field. He had four seasons (2008, 2010, and 2012, 2015) where he played all 16 games, but in the last three years of his career, he played in 28 of 48 games and started just 20 of them.

Also on the Games with Names podcast with Gronkowski was former Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman, who also played with Mayo from 2009-2015. He mentioned that he would, on occasion, “always ask to get the approval from Jerod” regarding what he was supposed to do and would seek Mayo’s guidance on many an occasion.

Mayo, who served as the Patriots linebackers coach from 2019 through 2023, has also received praise from former players like Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel, Vince Wilfork, and current players like Josh Uche.

Now, we look to 2024 to see how Mayo will do as a first-year head coach with rookie quarterback Drake Maye in the fold.

Source: Games With Names

All statistics courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless otherwise noted.

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