A Patriots roster that lacked talent on both sides of the ball finished Week 18 with a record of 4-13 before owner Robert Kraft showed Mayo the door.

Good mailbag this week, with questions about coaching staffs, roster hypotheticals, and much more. Let’s get to it. I’m curious, who has the final say on hiring assistant coaches? Vrabel has an “all-star” staff of coaches, while Mayo was allowed to hire a lot of first-timers. Was he set up to fail?

The "Patriot Way" was a phrase we heard a lot during New England's dynasty, with the team winning six Super Bowls over a span of two decades. The exit of head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady changed the identity of the team, but at least one player is expecting those old ways to come back with the addition of their new head coach.