On defense this year, the Patriots apparently will be flip-flopping from the 4-3 to the 3-4 and back again. Regardless of the number of linebackers, coach Bill Belichick has made it clear that Jerod Mayo will remain on the inside.
Asked whether Mayo will ever play on the outside, Belichick said (per Tom Curran of CSNNE.com), “Yeah, I mean, I don’t really see that. Maybe the next coach can put him there, I don’t know. But I think he’s going to play off the line of scrimmage and he’s going to play in the tackle box somewhere.”
Though Belichick surely was kidding when he referred to the whole “next coach” thing, there’s persistent speculation in some circles that Belichick would ride off into the sunset if he could win one more Super Bowl.
But the point of this one is Mayo. “He’s one of the best I’ve coached, one of the best in the league at [playing inside],” Belichick said. “I can’t imagine him playing anywhere else, at this point.”
We’ve got a feeling that the next coach would agree.