The Patriots’ next step after parting ways with Bill Belichick is to start interviewing candidates to replace him as head coach.

Belichick’s historic run lasted 24 years and included six Super Bowl Championships, nine AFC Championships and memories to last a lifetime. But the Patriots bottomed out in 2023 with a 4-13 record, and it was time for a change at the top.

Here are eight potential candidates to replace Belichick:

Patriots linebackers coach Jerod Mayo

Look no further than comments owner Robert Kraft made in May, when he told NFL Media that Mayo is “a strong candidate to be the heir apparent.”

Kraft also said at the NFL League Meeting in May, “There’s no ceiling on (Mayo’s) ability to be a head coach — and he’ll be a head coach. I’m sure of that. I hope he’s with us, so we’ll see what happens.”

It seems that it would reflect a change in the Patriots’ thinking if anyone other than Mayo replaces Belichick.

Ex-Titans head coach Mike Vrabel

Vrabel’s firing came as a pretty major surprise this offseason, however. After leading the Titans to the playoffs in 2019, 2020 and 2021, two straight losing seasons made owner Amy Adams Strunk decide the team needed new leadership.

Vrabel, who won three Super Bowls in New England from 2001 to 2008, was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in October while the Titans were on a bye. He referred to the Patriots as “we” during a halftime speech and told fans, “I don’t want you to take this organization for granted. I’ve been a lot of places, this is a special place with great leadership, great fans, great direction, and great coaching. Enjoy it, it’s not like this everywhere.” Vrabel also sat in Kraft and team president Jonathan Kraft’s suite for the game.

That all apparently irked Strunk.

“This was a decision made by Amy Adams Strunk, one that she has been mulling for the last several weeks,” NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport said on Wednesday morning’s Good Morning Football. “I would say maybe the last several months ever since Mike Vrabel went to New England, took part in the Hall of Fame day and all of the rumors started floating about whether or not Mike Vrabel would be the Patriots’ coach next year, whether he’d be the Titans’ coach. He never really addressed that internally. I know that didn’t sit great with the people there.”

Vrabel was believed to be one of the NFL’s top head coaches during his run with the Titans and obviously comes with ties to the Patriots.

Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson

Johnson is the top young offensive mind among head coaching candidates. The 37-year-old has been the Lions’ offensive coordinator for the last two seasons. He began in Detroit while former Patriots assistant Matt Patricia was still head coach.

Johnson, a former quarterback at UNC, began his coaching career at Boston College.

The Lions had a top-10 offense this season in expected points added (EPA) per play and DVOA this season despite not having an elite quarterback in Jared Goff.

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh

Harbaugh is fresh off of a national championship with the Michigan Wolverines and hired Don Yee, a name many Patriots fans recognize, to represent him. Yee, who represents Tom Brady and Broncos head coach Sean Payton, among others, obviously has deep NFL ties.

Harbaugh brought honor back to his alma mater. The 60-year-old was the 49ers’ head coach from 2011 to 2014 and led them to a 48-22-1 record. He was 5-3 in the playoffs, losing two NFC Championship Games and Super Bowl XLVII.

Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores

Flores cut his teeth in the Patriots’ organization, moving up the ladder from scouting assistant to special teams assistant all the way to linebackers coach/de facto defensive coordinator in the team’s Super Bowl LIII victory over the Rams.

He had a three-year stint as Dolphins head coach, leading Miami to a 24-25 record. After getting fired in 2022, Flores filed a class-action lawsuit against the NFL for racial discrimination, alleging that the Giants hired Brian Daboll as head coach before interviewing any minority candidates, which goes against the NFL’s Rooney Rule.

Flores spent the 2022 season as the Steelers’ senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach before getting hired as the Vikings’ defensive coordinator in 2023.

Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien

This one seems like more of a longshot, but after Kraft pushed for offensive changes in 2023, the Patriots hired O’Brien as offensive coordinator. The Patriots’ offense still struggled, but O’Brien has seven seasons of head-coaching experience, leading the Texans to a 52-48 record from 2014 to 2020.

Ex-Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels

McDaniels was at the Patriots’ season finale against the Jets on Sunday.

Each of his head coaching tenures have lasted less than two seasons with the Broncos from 2009 to 2010 and the Raiders from 2022 to 2023. He was just 20-32 as a head coach, but Robert Kraft has long been a fan of the former Patriots offensive coordinator.

Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik

Another young offensive assistant that bears mentioning. Slowik is the top offensive head coaching candidate with ties to Kyle Shanahan’s offense.

Before being named the Texans’ offensive coordinator in 2023, he spent six years with Shanahan on the 49ers. He showed the ability to develop a rookie quarterback this season with C.J. Stroud, who went 9-6 while completing 63.9% of his passes for 4,108 yards with 23 touchdowns and five interceptions.