The Patriots were tasked with more than shaping a roster this NFL offseason. New England needed to establish a new culture as well.
That comes with the territory when you bring in a new head coach. Jerod Mayo had big shoes to fill when he replaced Bill Belichick, a legendary coach who had a rigid method of operation. Mayo was widely viewed as a breath of fresh air of sorts in Foxboro, Mass., and it didn’t take long for him to go in a different direction than his predecessor.
Mayo and company clearly made it a priority to retain several internal free agents, something Belichick wasn’t always keen on dating back to 2000.