As Bill Belichick settles into his new job in Chapel Hill, his replacement with the New England Patriots finds himself embroiled in controversy.
While the Patriots fell to 3-11 with a 30-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, it was Jerod Mayo’s comments after the game that attracted more attention than New England’s fourth consecutive defeat. Asked during his postgame press conference about the possibility of using rookie quarterback Drake Maye more as a runner in the red zone, the Patriots’ first-year head coach seemingly threw offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt under the bus.
“You said it,” Mayo said, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “I didn’t.”
Asked in a follow up if he meant he’d like to see Van Pelt call more running plays for Maye, the former New England linebacker took ownership — or at least seemingly tried to.
“It’s always my decision,” he said. “I would say the quarterback obviously has, you know, a good pair of legs.”
Recapping Jerod Mayo’s post-game remarks about using Drake Maye as a runner in short-yardage — “you said it, I didn’t” — with full context of all Q&A on the topic. pic.twitter.com/6YERJKb8ow
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) December 16, 2024
Unsurprisingly, Mayo’s comments were met with plenty of backlash, especially from a Patriots fanbase that has largely been underwhelmed by his first season as New England’s head coach. While nobody expected the Patriots to return to Super Bowl form — or even contender status — in their first season post-Belichick, there’s been a growing sense that their new head coach isn’t prepared for the role, with his postgame gaffe only furthering that notion.
During his weekly hit on The Greg Hill Show on WEEI on Monday morning, Mayo did his best to perform damage control.
“I didn’t mean anything by it. Maybe a flippant response,” he said. “And I tried to clarify that with the next question, saying ultimately, it’s my decision. Ultimately, all those decisions — offensively, defensively, special teams — fall on me. I just wanted to get that out there.”
Patriots Head Coach Jerod Mayo joins! @WEEI
Mayo clarifies his statement, “You said it. I didn’t”. #NFL pic.twitter.com/5tdl6Gk0Bl— The Greg Hill Show (@TheGregHillShow) December 16, 2024
But when asked a follow up about his reputation for deflecting blame, as best illustrated by him referring to his own team as “soft” in October, Mayo seemed to only dig his grave eve deeper.
“Now everyone says that,” Mayo said.
In a vacuum, Mayo’s comments regarding his team’s offense might have been a minor hiccup, but the reality is that they only reinforced one of the biggest criticisms of his first season as the Patriots’ head coach. Ultimately, no head coach is going to look great when his team is 3-11. But New England’s didn’t appear to do himself any favors on Sunday night — or Monday morning, for that matter.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.