I haven’t retired from the Patriots Optimism business.
But when I comes to expressing hope, I do feel like reducing my hours.
Maybe working 29 hour weeks where I don’t qualify for bennies and I have more free time.
The reason being that my default setting of hopeful optimism just defaulted way too much.
Given the unenviable task of bringing societal order out of the chaos and rebuilding our once thriving civilization.
Do I think hecando it?
Why would anyone think otherwise?
Do I think hewilldo it?
How can anyone make that claim under the circumstances?
We can be optimistic, but right now cautious optimism is the best we can manage.
He was a coach on the field as a rookie as he won DROTY honors.
He was voted team captain for his entire career.
In fact, good luck finding anyone who doesn’t respect him.
Media guys who’ve dealt with him have nothing but universal praise.
More importantly, the Krafts agree.
They made that abundantly clear at this time last year.
Mayo is an unknown factor to the rest of us.
So hush), his factor is very much known.
Ownership has had years to consider this move.
And the fact they didn’t even have a coaching search speaks volumes through a loudspeaker.
And striped that one right down the middle of the fairway.
The Cons:
Let’s start with the obvious.
Mayo has never even been a coordinator.
You have responsibilities and decisions to make as a linebackers coach, to be sure.
But they grow exponentially when you’re coordinator of an entire defense.
Then grow by an order of magnitude when you become the man in charge of a multi-billion dollar operation.
Think Jim Halpert when he went from paper salesman to running the Scranton branch.
Now picture that instead of a small regional paper company office, he was put in charge of NASA.
That’s about the jump Mayo is about to make.
If they reneged on their promise, it would have been a terrible look.
Which, if true, is great.
They had the man they wanted all along, put a plan in place, and executed it.
And Mr. Kraft has said in the past “I don’t care what people think of me.”
Which is the only healthy attitude to go through life with.
But Mayo will be carrying the baggage of that public perception around with him until he starts winning.
Something they haven’t done since the crime against humanity that was the Rod Rust season of 1990.
Next, there’s the issue of promoting someone from within.
Which can be fraught with peril.
There was already some palace intrigue directed at him before Belichick was even let go.
[Pause while you make a cheap joke in your head.]
This is what happens when you keep it in the family, so to speak.
The whole history of the world is filled with such stories.
Bitter, resentful people who feel they got unfairly passed over and cause as many problems as they can.
Charlemagne was one of the great rulers in history.
But planned on splitting the Carolingian Empire equally between his two sons upon his death.
Which pleased neither of them and so they plunged all of Europe into civil war and bloodshed.
It’s human nature.
There’s a little Dwight Shrute in all of us.
Which brings me to the final concern.
And made laughingstocks out of themselves.
I’m confident he’ll be his authentic self.
Which hasn’t been serving the organization particularly well these last few years.
The Patriots need a change.
I hope it all works out as the Krafts planned it.
But like I said, I’m not doing hope as much as I used to.
I can’t believe I’ve been doing this so long their rookie linebacker is now their head coach.
