Is Jerod Mayo the NFL's Charlie Strong?

By Ryan Galloway | September 13, 2024

Photo by Danielle Parhizkaran/Boston Globe

Happy Friday to all the loyal TYB followers! Today we’re going to do something fun.

I’m not going to be discussing the Bills' victory over the Dolphins last night, or Tua’s third frightening concussion. Nor will I be discussing the fun game between Arizona St. and Texas St. Instead, I’m going to compare New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo, who is making his Foxborough debut on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, to legendary Texas Longhorn coach Charlie Strong.

You may be thinking, “Did Ryan not take his meds this morning?”; no I didn’t but that seems irrelevant. Now let’s dig in.

Jerod Mayo was hired as the head coach of the New England Patriots in the offseason after it was announced legendary coach Bill Belichick would not be returning. Mayo, a legendary Patriot in his own right, was figured to be the coach in waiting and the promotion did not come as a surprise. He had been doing a great job with the defense for several years, and an internal defensive-minded hire made the most sense to retain some continuity for a team lacking a lot of direction. Belichick appeared checked out by the end of his run and was relatively forced out by owner Robert Kraft.

The Mayo era got off to a hot start last week, as the new-look Patriots upset the Bengals in Cincinnati. The defense looked incredible, forcing turnovers, coming up with big stops, minimizing Jamarr Chase and Joe Burrow, and shutting down the run. On the other side, the offense looked the most competent it had looked in years, with QB Jacoby Brissett coming through in some big moments, despite not turning heads statistically. Are the Patriots back?

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I’ve seen this one before.

Let me take you back to January 5, 2014. The University of Texas at Austin announces Louisville head coach and defensive mastermind Charlie Strong will be the new coach for the Longhorns, replacing longtime and legendary coach Mack Brown. Brown led the Horns on a reign of terror in the early 2000s, including two national championship appearances, winning it all in 2005. By the end of his run, Brown had lost the team. Lack of discipline, leadership, quality of talent, and play - it was time for a change. Despite landing one of the premier jobs in college football, Strong was in a tough spot with big shoes to fill. Especially coming in with a defensive background, it wasn’t going to be an overnight improvement with the product on the field. There was a lot of personnel turnover, and close gut-wrenching losses, but the players loved him. And why wouldn’t they? He was a player-first coach, establishing a culture of respect and care, and leading with players’ personal development at the forefront. Strong had two marquee wins in his tenure, a 24-17 victory over 10th-ranked Oklahoma and another upset win against 10th-ranked Notre Dame, after which Joe Tessitore proudly proclaimed, “Texas is back!”

They were not. Texas finished that season 5-7 and after a few more lackluster seasons, Charlie Strong was dismissed. Strong was loved by his players. He had a great defensive mind (and has found success since in defensive roles). But he was not prepared to take the reins from Mack Brown. Strong finished his tenure at Texas with three losing seasons, Brown had winning records at Texas 15 out of 16 seasons.

Photo by Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News

So as happy as I was to see Coach Mayo get his first big win and get a Gatorade bath on the sideline, let’s pump the brakes. This defense is good. The offense is okay? The players love Jerod Mayo and have fun playing for the Patriots now. A defensive-minded coach in an offense-driven league, with massive shoes to fill after replacing a hall-of-fame coach, in his first role on the big stage.

So, as I see Patriots fans everywhere celebrate and quickly usher in the Mayo era, shouting from the rooftops “The Patriots are back!”, let me pose a question: is Jerod Mayo the NFL’s Charlie Strong?