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The next England Patriots announced on Friday that they had hired Jerod Mayo as their next head coach, making him the team’s 15th head coach in franchise history, just one day after parting company with iconic coach Bill Belichick.

The 37-year-old Mayo will make his official debut on Wednesday during a press conference. Mayo, who is one month younger than Sean McVay, will take over as the NFL’s youngest coach, a title McVay has held since being elected Los Angeles Rams coach in 2017.

After being chosen out of Tennessee in the first round of the draft, Mayo played linebacker for the Patriots from 2008 to 2015. In 2019, he became the linebackers coach and became a member of Belichick’s coaching staff.

Mayo’s contract extension from last offseason included a succession plan, which the Patriots used to hire him instead of the traditional NFL hiring process. This is comparable to what the Baltimore Ravens did when Eric DeCosta took over as general manager in 2019 after Ozzie Newsome retired.

In the history of the Patriots, Mayo becomes the first Black head coach.

The players in the locker room were largely in favor of him, particularly the defensive players. One defense texted after learning of Belichick’s departure, saying, “I hope they give it to Mayo.” He is deserving of it.”

In a Week 17 loss to the Buffalo Bills, captain Deatrich Wise Jr. cited Mayo as the main factor in the defense’s performance against quarterback Josh Allen.

As a player, Mayo won team captain in his second season; some teammates called him Bill Jr. because they saw him as a future coach who, like Belichick, spent a lot of time at the team facility.

The Patriots and Belichick, 71, declared on Thursday that he would be leaving the team after 24 seasons as coach, during which he won six Super Bowls. Following conversations between Belichick and Patriots owner Robert Kraft, the decision to part ways was taken; Belichick stated it was time to “move on.”

Mayo played all of his professional career with New England, making 103 appearances and accumulating 905 tackles. He became just the second Patriots player to win the Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, leading the team in tackles each of his first five seasons. He was a member of the 2014 Super Bowl winner squad, despite only playing in six games due to a leg injury.

After retiring following the 2015 campaign, Mayo was employed by the health services company Optum in finance. He has talked about how working under Belichick and having that experience prepared him to be a head coach in the future.

“I believe I am ready. Early in January, Mayo declared, “I think I’m ready.” It doesn’t matter if I talk to men or women, young or old, White or Black—I feel like I can talk to them all. and maybe assist such people change and become honorable citizens. That’s my perspective on it. I believe that development is my calling.”

Mayo recently said that a fundamental component of his coaching approach is fostering relationships with his players.

I coach because I love it. You can be harsh on the players after you establish that bond with a guy,” he remarked. “But when I played, it was a little different if you didn’t have that warmth and confidence beforehand. You just follow the coach’s instructions and do whatever they are. However, this generation differs slightly from the last. They’re interested in knowing “why.”