It turns out the “soft” comments Jerod Mayo made got back to Bill Belichick.
The New England Patriots’ current head coach called the team a “soft football team across the board” after a 32-16 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 7.
The former head coach commented on it during a recent podcast appearance.
“The Patriots got a lot of questions to answer. Between the head coach and the atmosphere and who’s soft and who’s not soft, and so forth …” Belichick said on the Coach Podcast.
“The Patriots got a lot of questions to answer. Between the head coach and the atmosphere and who’s soft and who’s not soft…”
Belichick touched on the Patriots drama and the trench play in the latest Coach Podcast from @Underdog__NFL pic.twitter.com/kEdWGZ9bXb
— Boorish (@Boorish_Sports) October 24, 2024
Mayo appeared to have an optimistic demeanor heading into his new role this season, but that obviously took a turn when the team lost their sixth straight game. Belichick mentioned the struggles on offense, but defense as well. You take those two aspects, combine them with the lack of competitive play and all the drama attached to the Pats this year, and you’ve got a hot mess.
Mayo said players aren’t doing their jobs. Players responded to Mayo’s soft comments.
“I’ve never been called soft by a coach,” wide receiver Kayshon Boutte told NBC Sports Boston. “I feel like it was a shot at the whole team and not an individual perspective.”
He did understand where Mayo was coming from during a 1-6 season.
The next opponent has their fair share of drama. The New York Jets.
“The same thing with the Jets, it’s been a struggle there,” Belichick added.
Should be an interesting matchup.
About Jessica Kleinschmidt
Jess is a baseball fan with Reno, Nev. roots residing in the Bay Area. She is the host of "Short and to the Point" and is also a broadcaster with the Oakland A's Radio Network. She previously worked for MLB.com and NBC Sports Bay Area.