There’s been a recent trend in the NFL when coaches have chosen to skip their team’s general manager’s attendance at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis. Adding Jerod Mayo to the list of absentees during his first summer as head coach of the New England Patriots could be another option.
Earlier last week, Mayo hinted that he would not attend the combine in Indianapolis but said “We’ll have great representation there,” to Alex Barth of 98.5 The Sportshub. “I have the ultimate faith in Eliot [Wolf] and his staff, and the coaches we’ll have there.”
Wolf will be in charge of building the Patriots’ roster in 2024 and has emerged as the team’s de facto general manager. With three wins in 2023 under his belt, the son of former Packers general manager Ron Wolf has a lot of work ahead of him. Since 2013, he is the first executive from the Patriots to participate in interviews at the Combine.
Likewise, Patriots supporters shouldn’t worry about Mayo missing Indianapolis. Coaches have started to completely disregard the week-long scouting hub in favor of one-on-one meetings and Pro days with every university.
Most coaches would be content to give up a week of scouting in order to better prepare the present roster or have an immediate impact in free agency, and instead trust the organization’s scouting departments to perform their jobs. Though he hasn’t stated categorically that he won’t attend, it appears that Mayo will be among the coaches who turn off the opportunity to observe the upcoming class of NFL rookies.