Shortly after the New England Patriots introduced Jerod Mayo as their new head coach, an old clip of Tom Brady resurfaced on social media.
Brady was once asked who has the most pull in the Patriots’ locker room. The legendary quarterback replied, “If you want something done, you go to Jerod Belichick.”
Judging by that nickname, Mayo was on good terms with Bill Belichick throughout his playing career.
Devin McCourty on this clip: “Everybody knew Jerod was Bill’s favorite” pic.twitter.com/ZvlELEQy1Y
— Alex Barth (@RealAlexBarth) January 17, 2024
Mayo mentioned Belichick during his press conference on Wednesday. Though he learned a ton from his mentor, he’s not trying to be his clone.
“Now as far as our staff and things like that, we’re going to be good, we’re going to be a lot better,” Mayo said. “Now Bill always says this: ‘managing expectations.’ For me, I’m not trying to be Bill, I’m not trying to be Bill. I think that Bill is his own man, if you can’t tell by now I’m even a little bit different up here. But what I will say is, the more I think about the lessons that I’ve taken from Bill, hard work works, right? Hard work works. And that’s what we’re all about.”
If Mayo leads the Patriots to a winning record next season, fans might start referring to him as “Jerod Belichick.”