Patriots Roundup: Falcons Schedule 2nd Interview With Bill Belichick

FOXBOROUGH, MA — What a week it's been in New England.

On Wednesday, Jerod Mayo addressed the Patriots media for the first time since his announced hiring as head coach.

The topics were broad and featured discussions about what it means to him to be the first Black head coach in the history of the Patriots, what his plans are for assistant coaches, how he'll move forward after replacing the most successful head coach in National Football League history and more.

Mayo is the 15th Patriots head coach in the history of the franchise, and, Kraft said, it was important to him and the leadership team to hire from within.

Mayo played for the Patriots, has been on the coaching staff since 2019 and, in recently revived clips online, was so close to Bill Belichick during his playing days that teammates — including Tom Brady — used to call Jerod Belichick.

Read more: New England's Next Chapter Begins With Jerod Mayo At The Helm

Although the hire of Mayo was internal, that doesn't mean he won't look outside of the organization for help.

"I don't like echo chambers," Mayo said. "I want people around me that are going to question my ideas or question the way I have done things in the past."

Specifics weren't plentiful during the introductory press conference, as to be expected.

However, later in the day, Mayo perhaps hinted at where the Patriots plan to go in the upcoming draft.

Quarterback Or Bust?

Mayo's most revealing comment about how the Patriots roster could take shape in his first year came in an interview with WBZ on Wednesday.

When asked about having the third pick in the upcoming draft, Mayo said "we're going to draft the best player for a position that's very important."

"You put the pieces together," he added.

Let's take a moment to lay out what that probably means.

Many have viewed the 2024 NFL Draft as a two-horse race, but it's still very early in the process.

USC's Caleb Williams and North Carolina's Drake Maye have been the frontrunners to go first and second since before the college football season started. However, neither of those players won the Heisman Trophy.

That would be LSU's Jayden Daniels, who many expect to be the third quarterback taken, and has been projected to go as high as third to New England.

Quarterback is, undoubtedly, the most important position in football. Though Daniels isn't who many scouts view as the best player at that position, the Patriots will likely target whoever the best available quarterback is at number three.

But since we're here, let's take it a step or two further.

Taking Mayo's words as literally as possible, the Patriots plan to draft the best player at a very important position.

If the team feels that's quarterback, then a trade up to one or two could be in the cards, with rumors that the Chicago Bears could be sticking with quarterback Justin Fields, likely meaning they'll look to trade out of the number one pick for a mighty compensation package.

There are two other positions, however, that are both crucial to good offenses and feature a clear top prospect in this draft.

At wide receiver — a position the Patriots have long struggled to get right in the draft — Marvin Harrison Jr. has been billed as a can't miss prospect. Some scouts have compared his potential to that of Julio Jones and Ja'Marr Chase.

Most importantly, barring a surprise on draft night, he'll almost certainly be available at number three.

Then there's offensive tackle, another position the Patriots would love to get squared away.

Notre Dame's Joe Alt, much like Harrison Jr., is the clear top prospect at the position and, also like Harrison Jr., will likely be available at three.

Bill Belichick

On Thursday, Ian Rapoport shared that former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick will have a second interview with Atlanta Falcons officials.

Rapoport said that Belichick met with owner Arthur Blank during an earlier interview, but that things are now "ramping up" on the Belichick front.

This will, of course, be the first time in over two decades that Belichick is moving to a new franchise, and it's yet to be seen how much control over personnel decisions he'll want.

In New England, Belichick served as both head coach and de facto general manager for much of his tenure.

The Other Bill

Pete Thamel reports that Ohio State will hire last year's offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien to the same role at the college.

O'Brien again moves to the college ranks, where he most recently worked at Alabama. He goes back to the Big Ten, where he had success at Penn State before heading to the Houston Texans.

Defensive Coordinator Interview

Another Rapoport nugget from this week in Patriots news.

The insider reports on Twitter that the team will interview New Orleans Saints linebackers coach Michael Hodges for the defensive coordinator job.

Carolina Panthers outside linebackers coach Tem Lukabu will also interview for the job, Rapoport said.

Denver Broncos defensive backs coach Christian Parker will also interview for the role, per Tom Pelissero.