Here’s the tale of the tape on Jerod Mayo’s tenure as the Patriots’ head coach.

At least a dozen interviews with prospective assistants.

Three concurrent coordinator searches.

And one introductory press conference light on answers, yet packed with moments that established Mayo should be anything but a Bill Belichick clone.

Naturally, Mayo’s to-do list runs long. First, Mayo must fill out his coaching staff, which should set the floor for the Patriots’ success in his early years. Remember: Belichick had five future head coaches/coordinators on his early staffs, plus Patriots Hall of Fame assistant Dante Scarnecchia.

Like any play drawn on a whiteboard, a head coach’s vision is only worth its execution. Mayo’s assistants will carry his vision to the players to execute. The better the coaches are, the better the players will be and the better the team should play.

Here’s where the Patriots’ coaching staff stands two weeks into the Jerod Mayo era.

What we know

Let’s start with all the coordinator candidates, per various reports.

The New England Patriots introduce Jerod Mayo as their new head coach. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)

Offensive coordinator: Ex-Patriots assistant and Rams tight ends coach Nick Caley, Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Robinson, Bengals quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher (since promoted in Cincinnati), ex-Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron (since hired in Chicago).

Defensive coordinator: Patriots defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington, Panthers outside linebackers coach Tem Lukabu, Saints linebackers coach Michael Hodges, Broncos defensive backs coach Christian Parker and Steelers assistant defensive coordinator Gerald Alexander (since hired in Las Vegas).

Special teams coordinator: Falcons special teams coordinator Marquice Williams, ex-Giants special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey and Rams special teams assistant Jeremy Springer.

Before initiating those interviews, Mayo offered defensive assistants Steve and Brian Belichick the opportunity to remain on staff, while their father, Bill, seeks another head-coaching opportunity elsewhere. Offering the Belichicks was one of Mayo’s first moves, a source confirmed to the Herald, and those coaches have support elsewhere in the building, should they choose to stay.

Around the same time, Mayo extended a request to speak with Lukabu, an ex-defensive coordinator at Boston College and former college linebacker. By interviewing Lukabu first, Mayo immediately satisfied the Rooney Rule, which mandates at least one interview with an external minority candidate for coordinator jobs. Mayo also met the Rooney Rule for his special teams coordinator position by interviewing Williams last week.

Patriots defensive coaches Jerod Mayo, left, and Steve Belichick share a laugh prior to an Aug. 3, 2021 practice at Gillette Stadium. Mayo is now the head coach. (Staff Photo/Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)

Special teams coordinator Cam Achord entered last season in a contract year, per source, when he worked closely with assistant head coach Joe Judge and special teams assistant Joe Houston. Based on the Patriots’ special teams performance the last two seasons, it’s sensible Mayo would be open to a coaching change.

Lastly, Mayo opened his offensive coordinator search on Monday, less than four days after Bill O’Brien made a lateral move to Ohio State. All of Mayo’s candidates thus far have ties to Rams coach Sean McVay and/or experience coaching a McVay-style system, an offense the Patriots haphazardly tried to install two years ago under Belichick and Matt Patricia. After interviewing with the Patriots, Pitcher and Waldron accepted other offensive coordinator jobs, and Alexander agreed to become the Raiders’ next safeties coach.

According to The Athletic, the Patriots’ offensive coordinator job is “not highly coveted” by the top candidates on the market.

Caley, it should be noted, has spent eight of his nine NFL seasons in New England, where he mostly worked under former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. According to a source, McDaniels has been a regular in New England in recent weeks. He’s seen as a strong candidate to join Mayo’s staff or follow Belichick elsewhere, should Belichick land another head-coaching job.

Mayo is also on the record saying he believes titles are important, a stark contrast to Belichick’s philosophy when building a staff and an indication he may be open to using new titles – such as, run game coordinator and pass game coordinator – when hiring assistants.

What we might know

New England Patriots assistant coaches DeMarcus Covington, left, and Jerod Mayo look on during a Dec. 15, 2019 game against the Cincinnati Bengals. (Staff Photo/Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)

Following the timeline of his interviews, Mayo intentionally started in the phases he knows best and those with coordinator vacancies: defense and special teams.

Mayo understands what he wants from his defense, a system he played in for eight years and has spent the last five leading as a coach. Curiously, none of his external candidates have any experience as an NFL coordinator, let alone coaching or playing in the Patriots’ system.

Internally is a much different story. No defensive coordinator candidate projects a cleaner fit than Covington. The 34-year-old is already a “strong favorite” for the job, per Sports Illustrated. Covington interviewed for the Cardinals’ defensive coordinator job last year, when he served in that role at the Senior Bowl after coming highly recommended by Belichick and Patriots’ staffers.

Over the past five years, Covington has coached defensive linemen and linebackers. He’s well-regarded for his Xs and Os and command of the room. Covington also shares an agent with Mayo, a detail that can often be overlooked in NFL coaching searches.

Jerod Mayo opens up about Patriots’ coaching searches

If Covington is Mayo’s top target, Hodges’ interview may have tipped the Patriots’ hand. Hodges has no other ties to the organization except working with Covington as co-defensive coordinators at Eastern Illinois in 2016, their final year in the college ranks before moving to the NFL. Should Covington get promoted, Hodges would make for a strong fit on the Patriots’ staff, given their overlap and Hodges’ work with a consistently strong linebacking corps in New Orleans.

So why would Mayo meet Hodges under this hypothetical pretense of a defensive coordinator interview? To pick Hodges’ brain and pitch him on joining the staff as an assistant. Mayo watched Belichick conduct an offensive coordinator search in this manner last year, meeting with then Oregon offensive line coach Adrian Klemm on an official coordinator interview before hiring Klemm to be a position coach weeks later.

Assuming Hodges is still under contract with the Saints, the team could block him from making a lateral move to New England. This is where titles matter. If Mayo offers Hodges a raise and a title change (run or pass game coordinator?) that establishes his position as a level above that of a traditional position coach within Mayo’s new staff, Hodges may be able to leave on his own.

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The same holds for Parker, who some national insiders have regarded as a talented riser in the coaching ranks. Parker, 32, has coached some of the NFL’s best defensive backs in Denver, starting with All-Pro cornerback Patrick Surtain II and Pro Bowl safety Justin Simmons. Alexander’s deal with Las Vegas indicated either he had no interest in New England’s job or didn’t believe he was a serious candidate.

Again, all signs point to Covington.

As for Steve Belichick, the Pats’ primary defensive play-caller since 2019, ESPN has reported his expected fit on staff would be as assistant head coach and/or senior advisor, should he choose to stay.

On special teams, Mayo appears to be prioritizing coordinator experience. Springer, the least experienced of the candidates to interview (just two years in Los Angeles), served as a coordinator for three years at the University of Arizona. McGaughey previously worked under Patriots assistants in Judge and Giants coach Brian Daboll, who fired him earlier this week.

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Offensively, while it initially appeared Mayo was coveting coaches with experience in McVay’s system, his current candidate pool paints McDaniels as the odds-on favorite.

McDaniels has more NFL experience than Caley and Robinson combined, and is the only one with a history of developing young quarterbacks. Mayo may want to evolve the Patriots’ offensive system with a McVay influence and bring Caley and/or Robinson aboard to help with that evolution, but Mayo’s only relevant comments on the future of his offense stated the Patriots’ will remain a “game-plan team.”

Translation: I’m not throwing out the old philosophy entirely.

What we don’t know

Will Bill Belichick get hired in Atlanta? Or elsewhere?

Bill Belichick announces his departure as head coach of the New England Patriots. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)

If not, Mayo’s competition for hiring old Patriots assistants falls away, and his options multiply. That’s good news for Mayo, whose coaching network is small and has thus far been patient with his searches.

However, with two of his best external candidates off the board for his most important job (offensive coordinator), how much longer can Mayo wait?

There are playbooks to re-write, systems to tweak and assistants to hire. Mayo can only do so much without his coordinators. And if McDaniels returns, could he persuade Caley to return without the promise of upward mobility in New England?

Setting that aside, who will be the Patriots’ next offensive line coach? The failure to replace Scarnecchia – a master of developing mid-round rookies into solid starters – has hurt the Patriots’ offense as much as any other coaching change or missed draft pick. The Pats have churned through four different O-line coaches in as many years.

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The sooner that churn stops, the sooner the line and the offense can settle.

What I think

No hard reporting here, just guesses. Ready?

McDaniels returns to the Patriots’ staff.

The offense evolves and features more McVay characteristics (heavy three-receiver personnel usage, more tight formations and frequent jet motion).

Covington gets promoted to defensive coordinator. The Patriots hire one of Parker or Hodges. Williams takes over as special teams coordinator.

Welcome to the Mayo era.