The Patriots need a new head coach and general manager after mutually parting ways with Bill Belichick on Thursday, so this will be a long, drawn-out process in which the team announces it has requested interviews with multiple candidates while satisfying the NFL’s Rooney Rule. Right?

No.

The Patriots included an agreement in linebackers coach Jerod Mayo’s latest contract to become the team’s next head coach, meaning they could avoid the traditional hiring process, sources told NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport. Rapoport called Mayo “a strong candidate to replace” Belichick.

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There’s some precedent to this. The Ravens did not go through a traditional hiring process when Eric DeCosta succeeded Ozzie Newsome as general manager. There were similar cases when Jim Caldwell succeeded Tony Dungy as the Colts’ head coach and when Jim Mora Jr. took over for Mike Holmgren as the Seahawks’ head coach.

Here’s an excerpt from the NFL’s anti-tampering policy:

“Contract may include an agreement to become the club’s next head coach, provided the agreement is filed with the League office at the time is signed and occurs prior to the season in which the vacancy occurs,” an NFL league spokesperson passed along.

Here’s an excerpt from a statement the Fritz Pollard Alliance released in 2018 after DeCosta took over for Newsome:

“Under Rooney Rule protocol, when a Club has established a firm succession plan that involves an internal coach or executive replacing a departing Head Coach or General Manager, no external search is required.”

The Patriots signed Mayo to a contract extension last offseason, before the 2023 season.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft called Mayo “a strong candidate to be the heir apparent” last offseason.

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

Mayo played under Belichick for eight seasons from 2008 to 2015. He spent three years out of the NFL before joining the Patriots as a linebackers coach in 2019. He’s helped lead the Patriots’ defense, along with Steve Belichick and Bill Belichick, since that time without a coordinator role or play-calling duties.

The Patriots’ defense has excelled, ranking first in lowest expected points added (EPA) per play, first in lowest dropback EPA per play and 10th in lowest rush EPA per play since 2019.

Bill Belichick was asked about Mayo’s potential as a head coach last week.

“Yeah, I think we have a lot of coaches on our staff who are good coaches,” Belichick said via video conference last Friday. “I’m not really in a position to comment on what other teams would be looking for or aren’t looking for. But yeah, I think we have a lot of good coaches on our staff. Jerod would be one of them.”

Kraft made Thursday’s press conference primarily about Belichick but did answer a question about what the team is looking for in its next head coach.

“We’re looking for someone who can help us get back to the playoffs and win. Believe me, after my family, this is really one of the two most important assets in my life,” Kraft said. “I am very upset when we don’t win games. It carries the whole week. So, I promise you I’ll be focused to do the best I can do to make sure we’re putting ourselves in the best long-term position to win for many years.”

If the Patriots don’t hire Mayo as their next head coach, then other candidates include ex-Titans head coach Mike Vrabel and Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores.

Vrabel played with the Patriots from 2001 to 2008, winning three Super Bowls, and coached the Titans to the postseason in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Flores served in the Patriots’ front office and coaching staff from 2004 to 2018. He was the de-facto defensive coordinator for the Patriots in 2018 when the team won Super Bowl LIII before leaving to become head coach of the Dolphins.