Patriots fire head coach Mayo, win over Bills costs New England No. 1 pick
The Associated Press | Posted: January 5, 2025 11:13 PM | Last Updated: 20 hours ago
Jaguars dismiss bench boss Pederson; Jets QB Aaron Rodgers throws 500th career TD
The New England Patriots have fired coach Jerod Mayo after one season, beginning another reboot for the franchise just a year after it parted with longtime coach Bill Belichick.
Owner Robert Kraft announced the firing in a statement shortly after New England closed its 4-13 season with a 23-16 win over the Buffalo Bills. Kraft called it "one of the hardest decisions" he's had to make.
A former Patriots linebacker who worked as an assistant under Belichick, Mayo started the season with a strong endorsement from Kraft. But he struggled to get the most out of a young roster that included rookie quarterback Drake Maye.
New England's win, combined with the Tennessee Titans' loss to Houston, gave this year's No. 1 pick to the 3-14 Titans.
Jaguars' Pederson let go after 4-win season
Doug Pederson is out as Jacksonville's head coach after the franchise's "best team assembled" won just four games.
Jaguars owner Shad Khan fired Pederson on Monday, a day after a 26-23 loss at Indianapolis in overtime. It was the team's 18th loss in its last 23 games. But Khan kept general manager Trent Baalke, a questionable decision that surely will affect who will become Jacksonville's next coach.
Khan made the move with one year remaining on Pederson's contract. The decision came more than five months after Khan stood in front of coaches and players and declared this the "best team assembled by the Jacksonville Jaguars ever."
"Winning now" was Khan's edict as training camp opened and after he committed nearly half a billion dollars to to signing quarterback Trevor Lawrence, pass rusher Josh Hines-Allen and cornerback Tyson Campbell to long-term deals in the offseason. It was the most expensive stretch of roster building in franchise history.
The Jaguars (4-13) ended up with their 10th losing season in Khan's 13 years as owner. Now, Khan will hire his sixth head coach; current NFL offensive co-ordinators Ben Johnson (Detroit) and Liam Coen (Tampa Bay) should top the list. But would they even agree to work with Baalke, whose draft picks have been mostly suspect and his latest free-agent class is among the worst in franchise history?
Pederson became the fifth NFL head coach fired this season, joining Robert Saleh (New York Jets), Dennis Allen (New Orleans), Matt Eberflus (Chicago) and Jerod Mayo (New England).
Pederson finished 9-8 in his first two campaigns in Jacksonville and made the playoffs in his first year. He became the first coach in franchise history to start with back-to-back winning seasons and was a welcome relief following Urban Meyer's 13-game tenure that was filled with dysfunction.
Bengals turf defensive co-ordinator, 3 position coaches
The Bengals fired defensive co-ordinator Lou Anarumo and offensive line coach Frank Pollack on Monday.
Cincinnati (9-8) missed the playoffs in the AFC, coming up short despite a five-game winning streak to end the season.
Anarumo has been defensive co-ordinator of the Bengals since Zac Taylor became head coach in 2019. He was a finalist for head-coaching positions just two years ago, when the Bengals were coming off of back-to-back AFC championship game appearances.
But the Bengals were torched repeatedly during a 4-8 start to the 2024 season, dropping one-score games in which they allowed 34 points (Chargers), 35 and 41 (Ravens), 38 (Commanders) and 44 (Steelers).
Cincinnati finished the season 25th in total defence (348.3 yards per game) and tied for 26th in points allowed (25.5 per game).
Defensive line coach Marion Hobby and linebackers coach James Bettcher were also fired Monday, as was Pollack.
Pollack was in his second tour of duty in Cincinnati and has also coached for the Jets, Cowboys and Raiders.
Giants keeping Daboll despite 3-14 record
Not every team that had a rough year has decided to change directions — the Giants announced on Monday that they're keeping coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen despite a 3-14 record this season.
The Indianapolis Colts are staying with their current regime after owner Jim Irsay said coach Shane Steichen and general manager Chris Ballard will return.
The Miami Dolphins are also sticking with their leaders: Owner Stephen Ross said coach Mike McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier will return after an 8-9 season.
NFL playoff schedule
The NFL finalized its schedule for the wild-card round of the playoffs Sunday evening after results from the late-afternoon window put most of the final puzzle pieces into place.
The Los Angeles Chargers, by defeating the Las Vegas Raiders 34-20, finished the season 11-6 and secured the No. 5 seed in the AFC over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Chargers' AFC West foes from Denver took care of business against a resting Chiefs team, winning 38-0 to lock up the conference's seventh and final bid.
The Steelers, who lost four straight games to end the regular season, must face the rival Baltimore Ravens for a third time in the AFC's No. 3 vs. No. 6 game. The teams split their season series but the Ravens won the AFC North by two games.
On the NFC side, the Los Angeles Rams lost 30-25 to the Seattle Seahawks, pushing them behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the pecking order. Tampa Bay, which clinched the NFC South earlier in the day by beating the Saints 27-19, took over the No. 3 seed and the Rams settled for No. 4.
The following is the schedule for the first round of the NFL postseason. The only determination left to make will be the No. 5 seed in the NFC. That will go to the loser of the Minnesota Vikings-Detroit Lions game on "Sunday Night Football" as the winner claims the NFC North crown, the top seed and the first-round bye.
Saturday, Jan. 11
- No. 5 Los Angeles Chargers (11-6) at No. 4 Houston Texans (10-7)
- No. 6 Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7) at No. 3 Baltimore Ravens (12-5)
Sunday, Jan. 12
- No. 7 Denver Broncos (10-7) at No. 2 Buffalo Bills (13-4)
- No. 7 Green Bay Packers (11-6) at No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles (14-3)
- No. 6 Washington Commanders (12-5) at No. 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7)
Monday, Jan. 13
- No. 5 Minnesota Vikings OR Detroit Lions at No. 4 Los Angeles Rams (10-7), 8 p.m. ET
Rodgers hits 500 TD milestone
Aaron Rodgers became the fifth player in NFL history to throw 500 career regular-season touchdown passes, accomplishing the feat in the second quarter of the New York Jets' game against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
On first-and-goal from the 5, Rodgers dropped back and then ran forward in the pocket to buy some time before zipping a pass to Tyler Conklin in the end zone to give the Jets a 7-6 lead with 7:57 left before halftime.
He joins Tom Brady (649), Drew Brees (571), Peyton Manning (539) and Brett Favre (508) as the only players to reach the milestone.