The Patriots firing Mayo also puts them back at the starting point at head coach, and in an unfamiliar position: for the first time in a quarter century, the Kraft family will nee

Jerod Mayo was the hand picked heir to Bill Belichick. When New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft fired his six-time Super Bowl winning head coach last winter, he didn’t have to go through an official job search; he’d already filed his succession plan with NFL officials.