The wasted no time this week, promoting veteran a sistant to head coach one day after . While Mayo's hiring was foretold inside the organization, New England isn't the only team that viewed the former linebacker as a viable head coach, with four other clubs targeting Mayo for a top job in recent years.Mayo, 37, has only Matthew Stafford Jersey ever served as the Patriots' inside linebackers coach, a position he's held since 2019. But he Allen Robinson Jersey 's long been viewed as a potential Belichick succe sor, previously playing eight seasons under the coach from 2008-2015. And other teams have taken notice. The were the first to host him for a head-coaching interview back in 2021, and Mayo "blew them out of the Bobby Wagner Jersey water," , only to be pa sed over for the offensively minded Nick Sirianni.A year later, in the 2022 offseason, both the and also interviewed Mayo for head-coaching vacancies. Denver ultimately traded for longtime coach Sean Payton, while Las Vegas hired Mayo's former Patriots colleague, Josh McDaniels. The tried to follow suit ahead of the 2023 season, but Mayo , citing a desire to remain in New England. He later signed a contract extension Odell Beckham Jr. Jersey with the Patriots that pointed to a potential succe sion of Belichick. Mayo, who was drafted 10th overall by the Patriots in 2008 and won XLIX as a player, is now the youngest head coach in the . His path to the top job Brycen Hopkins Jersey has some similarities to that of , who's preparing for his playoff debut as the first-year coach of the . Ryans, 39, had coordinator experience with the prior to landing a head-coaching job, but he also began as a LBs coach after a long career playing the position.