Jerod Mayo’s status in Browns DC interview changes after Pats announcement

Early Thursday, we covered a report that Jerod Mayo had an interview request for the head coaching job with the Carolina Panthers. As one of four known candidates for the Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator position, this seemed like the largest barrier if Mayo blew the team away in their interview.

Of the four candidates, Mayo may be the longest shot for the open Browns coordinator position but they valued him enough to have him on their shortlist. Brian Flores and Jim Schwartz have already interviewed for the position while Sean Desai prepares to coach for Seattle in the playoffs.

Now, it seems that both Carolina and Cleveland could be left out in the cold. The New England Patriots, the only professional team that Mayo has played (pictured above with Bill Belichick and Matt Patricia) or coached for has announced that they looking to extend Mayo’s contract:

The New England Patriots and Head Coach Bill Belichick have begun contract extension discussions with Jerod Mayo that would keep him with the team long-term.

In true Patriots fashion, the rest of the announcement was one line noting that they will be interviewing coaches for their offensive coordinator role next week.

1/13/2023 Update:

Looks like Mayo will not move forward with the Browns at all following the above announcement:

With very little information available, it seems that Mayo will not be interviewing with other teams at this time. There is speculation that Belichick will be putting his former linebacker in a position to be the “head coach in waiting” in New England with this extension.

While strictly speculation, Belichick will turn 71 years old before the start of next season so finding a long-term replacement on staff makes sense. The 36-year-old Mayo would be well-positioned to be the long-term replacement while having been developed under Belichick for years as both a player and coach.

We will keep you up to date if anything changes with Mayo’s availability for the Browns but, for now, it is likely that the known list is down to three names now.