Jerod Mayo's firing by the New England Patriots comes with the assumption that the Patriots will make a splash with their next coaching hire.
Mike Sando of The Athletic reported that the belief around the league is that Patriots owner Robert Kraft would not have fired Mayo without knowing he could grab a notable name on the coaching carousel.
"Kraft was not going to fire Mayo unless he gets Vrabel, Carroll or some other clear upgrade," an exec from another team told Sando.
Mayo was the handpicked successor to long-time head coach Bill Belichick by Kraft and his only season did not go smoothly.