NFL Rumors: 3 teams that will hate themselves for not hiring Jim Harbaugh

1. New England Patriots wasted no time hiring Jerod Mayo from within

Until proven otherwise, the New England Patriots made the worst hire of any NFL team with a head-coaching opening this offseason. While the team circled the drain under Bill Belichick the last few years, owner Robert Kraft wasted no time in hiring his successor from within in one of Belichick's former Patriots players in Jerod Mayo. The poor man has been set up to fail by Patriots ownership.

This has nothing to do with Mayo's accumen as a head coach. Again, I want all of these guys who get jobs to succeed. Only after they clearly don't have it do I turn on them. What irks me about this hiring is the Patriots didn't interview anybody else... Not only could Harbaugh have been had, but so could have Mike Vrabel, as well as any number of hotshot coordinators who were ready for their big shot.

This isn't like Antonio Pierce in Las Vegas, who spent half of the season winning over everyone's trust as the interim head coach. More importantly, who is Mayo going to build his staff around? Belichick is gone, and former offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien is now going to be the play-caller at Ohio State. Unless they nail it at quarterback with the No. 3 pick, this is a completely dead franchise.

Hiring Mayo is fine and may work, but to not interview anyone else feels like ownership malpractice.