Bill Belichick knows his former student and New England Patriots successor Jerod Mayo was fired after just one season.
But what happens to the team he won six Super Bowls with is the least of his worries right now.
During his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Belichick, who was on a recruiting trip in a suit and tie for his new gig as the North Carolina Tar Heels head football coach, said the Patriots never gave him a ring because they decided to fire Mayo after finishing 4-13 this year.
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New North Carolina head football coach Bill Belichick speaks to the crowd at the Dean Smith Center during halftime of an NCAA college basketball game between La Salle and North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)
“The Patriots situation, I honestly don’t have much comment on that,” Belichick told McAfee and his crew. “Robert Kraft, Jonathan Kraft, Robyn Glaser, they are the decision makers there.
“Mayo were hand-picked by Robert, but ultimately the decision-making was something they had to comment on.
‘From the outside I really don’t know. They didn’t call me and ask about it, so I don’t know.”
PATRIOTS OWNER ROBERT KRAFT ASSUMES GUILTY AFTER FIRING JEROD MAYO: ‘ENTIRE SITUATION IS UP TO ME’
Of course, McAfee had to ask Belichick after his replacement was ready in Foxborough, but a new journey for the legendary coach is well underway as he continues to try to build his first roster in Chapel Hill.
As Belichick mentioned, Kraft selected Mayo, who was already on Belichick’s staff, to be the Patriots’ next head coach last season. It came after the team and Belichick mutually parted ways after a four-thirteen-year season, ending a 24-year relationship that created arguably the greatest football head coach of all time.
Robert Kraft speaks at the Historic Roots of Black and Jewish Solidarity at 92NY on March 7, 2024 in New York City. (John Lamparski/Getty Images)
Mayo played for the Patriots from 2008 to 2015, winning a Super Bowl with the franchise during the 2014 campaign. Belichick eventually brought him to his coaching staff as linebackers coach in 2019 before Kraft made his choice last year.
But Kraft took the blame on Monday when he addressed reporters about Mayo, saying “the whole situation is on me” regarding his decision to let Mayo go after just one season.
“I feel bad for Jerod because I put him in an untenable situation,” Kraft added. “I know that as a head coach he has all the tools to be successful in this league. He just needed more time before taking the job.
“At the end of the day, I am a fan of this team first and foremost, and now I have to look for a coach who can get us back to the playoffs and hopefully to the championships.”
North Carolina Tar Heels new head coach Bill Belichick speaks with the media at Loudermilk Center for Excellence. (Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images)
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As the Patriots resume their head coach search, with another former Belichick player, Mike Vrabel, expected to be top of the agenda as Mayo’s replacement, the 72-year-old coach’s first season with the Tar Heels in the spotlight. , as this will be Belichick’s first-ever collegiate appearance in his illustrious career.
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