Robert Kraft called firing Jerod Mayo the worst financial decision as Patriots owner

For Robert Kraft, it wasn’t an easy decision when he decided to fire Jerod Mayo after one season as Patriots head coach.

As the owner admitted recently, it was also a costly decision in more ways than one.

Appearing on "The Quick Snap podcast" with former Patriots David Andrews and Brian Hoyer, Kraft opened up about firing Mayo, which ultimately led him to hiring Mike Vrabel. That turned out to be the right move as the Patriots are 14-3 and headed to the divisional round.

Kraft told his former players that firing Mayo marked the worst financial decision he made as owner of the Patriots.

“The one thing that I and my family understand is that we own this team, but it’s not like a traditional business,” Kraft said. “I look at our family as custodians of a public asset.

“I’m very fond of Jerod. I would say that was one of the one or two hardest decisions (I’ve made), because to fire a guy after one year, and by the way, it was very expensive, because (it was) not only his contract, but 25 other coaches. It’s the worst financial implications since we’ve owned the team.”

By firing Mayo and all his assistants, including both offensive and defensive coordinators, the Patriots entered this season paying the contracts for two coaching staffs.

Kraft was so fond of Mayo, the Patriots’ former linebacker, that the owner put a succession clause in his contract. When he opted to let go of Bill Belichick, it meant that Mayo automatically got the head-coaching job without needing to go through a comprehensive interview process.

That offseason saw Vrabel get let go by the Tennessee Titans. Once he didn’t get the Los Angeles Chargers job, he opted to join the Cleveland Browns as an assistant.

In the end, the experiment with Mayo didn’t work as the Patriots won four games for the second straight season. Ultimately, it led to the right coach as Kraft hired Vrabel this offseason.

Now, the owner’s team is coming off its first playoff victory since the 2018 season, and Kraft has no doubts that he made the right choice.

“I’m a fan first, and I thought, ‘I can’t. This just isn’t the right situation,’ and that’s on me,” Kraft said. “Jerod’s a great guy, but I just didn’t want to go through a continuation of what happened.

“And I really believed that hiring Mike gave us a chance, quickly, to put the team where it was to go from 4-13 to now 15-3.”

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