DENVER — The Patriots surprised the NFL world Sunday when they fired first-year coach Jerod Mayo. They made the decision soon after their season finale Sunday that put them at 4-13. Mayo took over in New England for legendary coach Bill Belichick, but his stint leading the Patriots lasted just one season.

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla spoke about the firing before his team played the Nuggets on Tuesday at Ball Arena. The two coaches had a prior relationship as Mazzulla raised some good points about firings in sports.

“The first part is you don’t realize the impact that it has on the assistants and their families and their kids,” Mazzulla said. “To me, it’s bigger than just the head coach. You got assistants that believe in the head coach. You got assistants that move their families there, so there are people that are impacted by it. Second piece is, like you said, we’re hired to get fired. You enjoy it for as long as you can. After that, it’s done. That’s it.”

The Mazzulla and Mayo relationship popped up throughout the former Patriots coach’s first season. Mayo revealed that Mazzulla sat-in on defensive meetings, soaking in whatever he could from the top of a different sport. Mayo said his relationship with Mazzulla also started from before they each led the way for their respective teams.

The Patriots now enter a new era as they look to get back to consistently competing for Super Bowls. The organization will need to hire a new coach with potential candidates already popping up.

New England also has its quarterback of the future with last year’s No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye, who impressed in his snaps as a rookie amid the losses. So the Patriots already feature a few pluses as the interview process has already begun for their next guy.