While half the league is busy preparing for the NFL playoffs, the other half is already scrambling to fill their vacancies. What we call “Black Monday” in the NFL biz has arrived, and, as usual, heads have rolled. The New England Patriots didn’t even wait until the annual firing day to sack their guy, Jerod Mayo. And, barely 24 hours after the rookie head coach was canned, talking heads are calling the Patriots’ head coaching job the best of the bunch.
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While discussing the five head coaching vacancies in the NFL right now, former NFL QB Dan Orlovsky was asked which one would be the most attractive to him as a head coach for hire. Surprisingly, he went with the seemingly talentless Patriots over what looked like a stacked Chicago Bears roster. The biggest reason? Rookie QB Drake Maye.
Orlovsky went so far as to compare Maye’s potential to that of the presumptive 2024 NFL MVP:
“I would choose New England. Because of Drake Maye. I think that the young man’s chance to be an absolute superstar. I think he’s got the chance to be Josh Allen.”
Caleb Williams was viewed unanimously as the top talent in last year’s draft. Many have since soured on him and warmed to Maye despite their similar records as rookie starters (5-12 for Williams, 3-9 for Maye). Some of that may have to do with the view that Williams struggled despite a cache full of weapons while Maye impressed despite a dearth of talent at the skill positions.
However, it wasn’t all about Maye. While the 22-year-old QB is the main factor here, there’s a lot to like about the Patriots’ situation if things go as Orlovsky expects them to this offseason.
“They’ve got the No. 4 pick. They’ve got $130 million in salary cap space. I can go get Tee Higgins and draft Emeka Egbuka from Ohio State and all of a sudden we’ve got a really good, promising football team. I could draft Will Campbell from LSU and protect [Maye]. So, I think that this is the place that is going to be—for an offensive minded head coach, if you are one, a Ben Johnson—I think that’s the place that you desire to go to.”
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The Patriots are in a pretty good spot picking at No. 4 in the draft. The three teams ahead of them—Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, and New York Giants—are all in the QB market. And if they’re not, they should be. Because the Pats already have Drake Maye, that means they basically get their pick of the litter for the other 21 positions on the football field.
Maye had the 5th-highest sack percentage in 2024, at 9.14. Considering that, the Pats would do well to ensure they invest in the offensive line in the draft. Campbell seems like the safe and smart pick.
The better option at receiver is Higgins, who is unlikely to be able to fit into the Cincinnati Bengals’ salary cap puzzle. The pairing of Maye and a young and exciting new offensive-minded head coach like Ben Johnson could be just the thing to lure Higgins to New England.
The Pats also have more available cap space (just over $131 million) in 2025 than any other NFL team. That means they can pay key free agents like Higgins a premium this spring, should they so choose.
The Bears, the New York Jets, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the New Orleans Saints are all in the head coaching market as of this writing.
