Albert Breer: Potential Offensive Coordinators Under Jerod Mayo

On Wednesday's edition of Zolak & Bertrand, Albert Breer of the MMQB lists off some potential offensive coordinators that new Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo may look at hiring.

Now that he's taken over the New England Patriots' head coaching job, one of the first tasks for Jerod Mayo is to build out his coaching staff. That process is already in the works, with reports of his first coordinator interview coming on Monday.

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Mayo and the Patriots are set to interview Carolina Panthers' outside linebackers coach Tem Lukabu for the defensive coordinator job. Rapoport didn't include the date of the interview in his initial report.

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There are a couple of clear connections between the Patriots and Lukabu. He began his coaching career at Rutgers under Greg Schiano, who was briefly on the Patriots' coaching staff in 2019 and has been connected to the organization going back to his first stint as the head coach at Rutgers, where Lukabu worked for him in multiple roles. Lukabu also followed Schiano to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he was a defensive assistant.

Lukabu also coached locally, as the defensive coordinator at Boston College from 2020 to 2022. He left BC last year to join the Panthers in his current role.

Beyond those two jobs Lukabu has also worked for a number of top defensive coaching around the NFL. He was a defensive quality control coach for the San Francisco 49ers for a year under Robert Saleh, and was the linebackers coach for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2019 under Lou Anarumo. In between, he was the linebackers coach at Mississippi State, with a defense that features a number of future NFL players including Montez Sweat and Willie Gay.

Last year in Carolina Lukabu worked with a group that included Brian Burns, Frankie Luvu, and Yetur Gross-Matos. Those three combined to have 18 of Carolina's 27 sacks on the season.

While Lukabu is the first coach to reportedly interview to join Mayo's staff, he's not the first candidate for the defensive coordinator job. Earlier on Monday, SI's Albert Breer reported the Patriots have extended an offer to Steve Belichick, who has been the team's primary defensive play-caller in recent years - to return in 2024. Breer didn't specify a role for Belichick, but given his responsibilities in the past, defensive coordinator would be the most logical.

Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at abarth@985TheSportsHub.com.

Bertrand: Who's going to be this team's offensive coordinator?

Albert Breer: I think they're going to have a wide open search.

Bertrand: So it will not be Bill O'Brien?

Albert Breer: I think they're going to talk with O'Brien about it. I think with both him and Josh, I think there will be they'll take their temperature on it. I also think like things were really sideways here last year and both those guys know it. I think for both those guys, it's like they're sort of in this place where they're trying to restart their careers, you know? And so is it the right thing to be here?

Zolak: Someone's going with Bill(Belichick).

Albert Breer: I think that that will be a possibility for both of those guys. Go with Bill(Belichick). Now, I would say in both cases, in both Josh's case and Billy's case, there are family reasons to be here. You know, so that's the flip side of it. There are things about being in this region that would be easy for them. But I think it'll be wide open. I think Jerod's going to look like into the Shanahan/McVay family. And there are some guys that make sense there. I can give you a handful of names of guys that would probably be in that next group up. When it comes to that family of coaches.

Zolak: Is Nick Caley one?

Yeah, I think he'd be one. Another would be Zach Robinson who played here. He was aquarterback at Oklahoma State. Played here, was here I think, you know for a spring in the summer. He's their pass game coordinator in LA. Another one, Brian Fleury, who is now in an elevated role in San Francisco under Kyle Shanahan. He Took on some of the responsibility that Bobby Slowik had before he went to Houston. So those would be some names to start with. You could also look at a more experienced name. Maybe it would make sense to bring in somebody who has experience and that's Kellen Moore. Like do you do you make a phone call to Kellen Moore who's been in Dallas and with the Chargers the last few years. And has called plays for a while, right. Like, would you rather do something like that?

Zolak: He's out there. He's fired.

Albert Breer: It's one of those like that where you're free to go look for a job and things, you know, like they're still under contract. And like what they always say in these situations is you're free to make that decision. One name that's super interesting to me that has local ties, that might be the crossover guy is Shane Waldron. He was in Seattle last few years.

Among the questions that come with the New England Patriots hiring Jerod Mayo to be their next head coach, few if any are bigger than what his offensive approach will be. A former linebacker and linebackers coach, Mayo has never worked on the offensive side of the ball so it's impossible to say from the outside looking in whether he'll continue the Patriots' current offensive system, or take that side of the ball in another direction.

That question extends to personnel. Mayo will need to build out his coaching staff, and will have the option to retain current offensive coaches or replace them.

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The first and most well-known coach Mayo will have to make a decision about in that regard is offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien. O'Brien was hired by the Patriots at this time last year to try to turn around an offense that became stagnant in the Matt Patricia era, but O'Brien's unit ended up ranking 31st in the NFL averaging 13.9 points per game.

O'Brien had a prior relationship with Bill Belichick prior to last year's hiring - he worked for the Patriots previously from 2007-2011 holding the OC title that final year. However, it sounds like Mayo could target a different former Patriots' offensive coordinator for that job.

On Saturday afternoon NFL Network insider Mike Garafolo was discussing Mayo building out his staff. He both added context to O'Brien's situation, as well as giving a candidate to take over if O'Brien doesn't remain with the team.

“Bill O’Brien is currently under contract, but if he and the Patriots go their separate ways expect a familiar face - Josh McDaniels - to be at the top of the list for Jerod Mayo’s next offensive coordinator," Garafolo said.

McDaniels has had multiple extensive stints as the Patriots' offensive coordinator in the past. The first was from 2006-2008 (he joined the organization in 2001), and then again from 2012-2021.

In his last year in New England the team had the sixth-ranked offense in the NFL, scoring 27.2 points per game during quarterback Mac Jones' rookie season. That performance led to him getting hired as the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, a job he held for a year and a half before being fired this past fall.

There are some clear potential upsides to hiring McDaniels as Mayo's OC. He's proven to be capable at developing quarterbacks, something the Patriots will need next year whether it be for Jones, Bailey Zappe, or - most likely - a draft pick. He'd also provide a veteran coaching presence and significant offensive experience to the staff led by a first-time, defensive head coach.

For McDaniels, there could be some draw as well. He could return to both an organization and area he knows and he and his family are familiar with.

The question is, will McDaniels have any other interest around the league? Specifically, from another familiar face. Wherever Belichick ends up, he'll need an offensive coordinator. It stands to reason he'd target the man who did that job for him longer than any other, and was in that position for his three most recent Super Bowl wins. Could we see a situation where Belichick and the Patriots end up bidding against each other for McDaniels' services?

That, of course, is all contingent on Mayo and the Patriots moving on from O'Brien. How that plays out will be one of the biggest stories to watch in the coming week.

Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at abarth@985TheSportsHub.com.