The Patriots hired Jerod Mayo as head coach earlier this month.
Mayo is not only Bill Belichick’s successor, but also the first Black head coach in franchise history. The Patriots were founded in 1959.
Mayo’s hire comes nearly sixty years after the Celtics hired their first Black head coach, Bill Russell, in 1966. Alex Cora, who is Puerto Rican, became the Red Sox’ first minority manager in 2017.
Last week, Patriots owner Robert Kraft was asked what Mayo’s status as the franchise’s first Black head coach meant to him.