Firing Jerod Mayo wasn’t just difficult for Patriots owner Robert Kraft on a personal level. It hit his wallet, as well.

Coaches sign fully-guaranteed contracts when they’re hired. So, the Patriots still have to pay Mayo and his staff even after hiring Mike Vrabel as their new head coach this offseason.

“I’m very fond of Jerod,” Kraft said on “The Quick Snap” podcast with former Patriots David Andrews and Brian Hoyer. “And I would say that was one of the one or two hardest decisions (I’ve had to make), because to fire a guy after one year — and by the way, it was very expensive, because there (was) not only his contract, but 25 other coaches. It’s the worst financial implications since we’ve owned the team.”

The Patriots had a second consecutive 4-13 season under Mayo in his only year as head coach.

The team immediately turned around under Vrabel and now are preparing for the Texans in the divisional round of the playoffs after beating the Chargers on Sunday in the wild-card round.

“I’m a fan first, and I thought, ‘I can’t — this just isn’t the right situation,’ and that’s on me,” Kraft said. “Jerod’s a great guy, but I just didn’t want to go through a continuation of what happened.

“And I really believed that hiring Mike gave us a chance, quickly, to put the team where it was to go from 4-13 to now 15-3.”

The Patriots did not go through a traditional hiring process when bringing Mayo aboard, since there was a succession clause written into his contract once the team moved on from Bill Belichick.

Kraft and co. only interviewed three other coaches — Byron Leftwich, Pep Hamilton and Ben Johnson — before hiring Vrabel on Jan. 12, 2024.