Back in January, it was reported that Patriots inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo turned down a head coaching interview with the Carolina Panthers to remain in New England.
There has also been talk in the past that Mayo could be the heir apparent to Bill Belichick. Pats owner Robert Kraft said as much this past offseason.
The longtime New England assistant was asked about this during his media availability on Tuesday, though Mayo predictably gave a non-answer.
“I bet you could say the answer that I’m about to give you,” Mayo said. “We’re 100% focused on the Chiefs. I only try to control the controllables, and that’s out of my control.”
“Hopefully, as you guys all know, one day I want to be a head coach. Where that is, I don’t know. But at the same time, I would say I have a lot of love for New England. I have a lot of love for the fans, the people around the building, and my family, they love it here, as well. So that would be great if I could stay here and continue to progress throughout my career. But we’ll see.”
Mayo, 37, played for the Patriots from 2008-15 and has been a member of Belichick’s staff since 2019.
“There’s no ceiling on his ability to be a head coach, and he’ll be a head coach,” Kraft told reporters about Mayo back in March. “I’m sure of that. I hope he’s with us. So we’ll see what happens.”
New England has four games remaining in the regular season, beginning with Sunday’s matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs.