Gonzalez agreed with Jones and added that while outsiders may not have understood Mayo’s messaging, the players did. He pointed to Mayo’s walk-off comment after a loss in Miami that caught fire on social media.

While current members of the New England Patriots understandably are excited to have Mike Vrabel as their new head coach, multiple former Patriots players have publicly criticized team owner Robert Kraft for firing former coach Jerod Mayo after just one season.

Good mailbag this week, with questions about coaching staffs, roster hypotheticals, and much more. Let’s get to it. I’m curious, who has the final say on hiring assistant coaches? Vrabel has an “all-star” staff of coaches, while Mayo was allowed to hire a lot of first-timers. Was he set up to fail?

Deron Mayo, 36, has been with New England since 2018, serving as an assistant strength coach under Moses Cabrera until he was elevated into the head role last season. Before that he was playing the game as a linebacker, spending the summer of 2011 with the Broncos before heading to the CFL from 2012-17.

When Mike Vrabel's full Patriots coaching staff was announced last week, there was a notable name missing: New England special teams legend Matthew Slater.

Former New England Patriots special teams captain Matthew Slater, who served as an assistant coach last season, opened up about not returning on Mike Vrabel's new coaching staff in 2025. Slater spent the 2024 season as an advisor to former Patriots coach

Last season, the former All-Pro and captain worked as the Patriots special assistant to the head coach. That job, however, didn’t carry over to Mike Vrabel’s new staff and after one season, Slater said he opted to focus on his family over football.