The Patriots firing Jerod Mayo, the franchise's first Black coach, is a bad look for the NFL and Robert Kraft even though it was necessary.

Former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski once shared a locker room with Jerod Mayo. He recently told Ryan Morik of Fox News Digital he thought that Patriots owner Robert Kraft firing Mayo after just a single season was "kind of an ugly situation" because "it wasn't enough time to evaluate" Mayo as a head coach.

Pats fans were rooting for him. But as verbal missteps continued, it became obvious Mayo lacked the proper amount of head-coach training.