Jerod Mayo Calls Mr. Kraft 'Thunder,' and Other Takeaways from His First Presser as Patriots Head Coach

It's a huge mistake to ever evaluate a coach in any sport by his introductory press conference. Those things are very much like a wedding night. Full of hope and optimism. You know there'll be work to do, but that can wait. You're still getting to know each other. Everyone's looking forward to what lies ahead. And you're on your best behavior. Granted, on my wedding night I faced a lot of tough questions and struggled to answer them. But that's the exception. 

Mostly these are feel-good experiences for all involved. By way of example, Bill Belichick's first meet & greet with a hostile Boston media who'd wage The 24 Years War against him began with a classic opening line (cued up to the 1:25 mark):

... and went gangbusters from there. 

Jerod Mayo's went just as well. Though it's not a great comparison because he's been popular with the media since he was drafted in 2008. Plus back then we were living in a world where newspapers and sports radio still had some sway and their opinions mattered. So when a lot of them resented the fact that Mr. Kraft hired Belichick instead of media darling Chan Gailey (Note: This was actually a thing), they were looking forward to seeing him fail so they could treat him like he was Rick Pitino. Belichick flipped that power dynamic upside down a generation ago. And created a much less hostile arena for his replacement to walk into. 

That said, it's hard to come away from the first impression of Patriots Head Coach Jerod Mayo with anything but positives. He was in total command of the room. Brought jokes of his own, only they were improv'd in the moment:

And most tellingly of all, introduced the world to a nickname no one had ever heard before:

Which is near and dear to my heart, since everyone in my family who ever played organized ball was, at some point, called "Thunder" by at least one coach. Provided they had any knowledge of football history. Because of this guy:

In my case, only ironically. But Mayo has given me a new life goal, which is to get into Mr. Kraft's inner circle to the point I can call him Thunder too. Right now I'm at RKK. But my social climbing is far from done. 

Just to hit the other, less vital to the future of this franchise highlights, here are some of the other key takeaways:

--Patriots past and present turned out:

Though whether Mac Jones qualifies as past or present was not addressed and remains to be seen.

--One of the first topics addressed was Mayo's status as the first black head coach in franchise history. Which Thun-- Mr. Kraft pointed out was not a factor when he hired him. Adding that he doesn't see color when making personnel decisions. Which led Mayo to respond:

Brace yourself for countless hours of demagogues blowing this all out of proportion to prove there's some kind of a rift between the two. Ignoring not only the relationship these two have, or the fact that RKK just put Mayo at the controls of his multi-billion dollar operation without interviewing a single candidate, but also the work he's been doing on racial issues his entire life as a public figure. Because everything now has to be twisted into something terrible now. 

--As far as that decision to give Mayo the job without considering other candidates, Mr.Kraft pointed out that he knew Belichick in 1997 in the same way he knows Mayo now. The only reason he didn't give him the job at that time was because he worked on Bill Parcells' staff, and the breakup was so contentious he didn't feel comfortable promoting one of his assistants. And he has the same confidence in his choice now as he did when he did bring Belichick back three years later.

--Shockingly, Mayo said something to the effect that while he's not Belichick, he's going to make every attempt to be like him in every way. His methods. The way he treats people. His words and mannerisms. In fact, he intends to be a clone of Bill's in every aspect of the job. I kid. He said he's not Belichick and is not going to try to be like him. Which is precisely what has been said by Matt Patricia, Joe Judge, Josh McDaniels (twice), Eric Mangini, Charlie Weis … With predictable results. Though in Mayo's case, I believe it. 

--One obvious way he intends to be his own man is by officially naming coordinators on offense, defense and special teams. Which I take as a positive step. I always felt part of the reason Belichick only gave out those titles sparingly is because every time someone got the job officially, they pinged the radar of every NFL team and BCS program in the land. For the foreseeable future, having anyone interested in hiring one of Mayo's assistants would be a reason to pop corks around here. 

--As far as doing likewise with his GM, Thunder seemed to want to kick that can down the road to keep the focus on Mayo. But then elaborated on his decision not to answer, by explaining he likes to hire from within in all his business ventures. Essentially to promote decision makers he trusts, let them make decisions, and then hold them accountable if the decisions don't work out. One interesting exception he mentioned is that he's stepped in when his GM wanted someone who is truly a bad human. By which he had to be referring to Parcells taking Nebraska LB Christian Peter in 1996, who made history as the first pick ever drafted only to be renounced by his own team before he so much as reported or took a physical. He might have also been alluding to Antonio Brown's release in 2019. Regardless, since they once had a guy on their roster who committed murder, I think we can all respect where he's coming from on this one. 

--Finally, getting back to Mayo and his coaching style, he referred quite a few times to not wanting to surround himself with Yes men. That's he's looking to "rebuild some relationships, knock down silos and collaborate." And how he believes that players have changed since he came into the league 16 years ago. That it's not so much about telling them what to do and demanding they do it. But for coaches to get to know the guys who report to them, understand where they're coming from as people and relate to them. 

One point about that. Yes, the Boomer in me wants to roll my eyes all the way into the back of my skull at the sound of this Gen Z horseshit. The reason I won't is a bunch of years ago I asked Belichick about a study the 49ers commissioned from Stanford about how best to work with the current generation of players. It was full of suggestions that sounded like Grade-A horseshit to me. Give them frequent breaks so they can check their texts and social media posts, things like that. 

I thought I was offering him up low-hanging fruit that he could mercilessly ridicule. He surprised me by saying the exact opposite. Instead he acknowledged that he's witnessed a constant evolution from the way coaching has been done since he first came into the league in 1975. How they went from black & white All-22 game film projected onto a screen to software that shows every player specific coaching points for their particular assignment in certain downs and distances and so on. From playbooks in 3-ring binders to tablets, etc. For better or worse, people do, in fact, change. Even an old school guy like him understands coaching styles have to change with them. 

It follows that Mayo is going to began by saying he's going to be himself. And the self he's going to be is one who wants his players to feel understood by him and his staff. It's going to be one hell of a fascinating social experiment seeing how it all works. Stay tuned. But so far, so good.

PS. I'm taking suggestions for a Thunder Kraft t-shirt. Put your design ideas in the comments below.