Here's what I don't like about it, though I don't think we know all the details to be fair, which probably adds a few reasons more why he was fired:
You should already know if Mayo can hack it, given he is a former player and on average the ask is high for both that and a black guy that didn't grow up overseeing Xs and Os. People don't like that reality but it's the truth, and the idea that more players should be coaches is just pathetic victim stuff that demonstrates again that groupthink is terrible, especially by said group. For example, players are awful at analyzing and picking games, especially ATS - the only ones I've found over the years that were any good (and it's miniscule) are former head coaches and QBs. Who'd a thunk? The smartest guys, of course.
A funny thing we'll never know that's somewhat possible in the decision tree was that the Patriots knew they'd be bad anyway, and now they can say they gave a black dude/DEI a chance.