The New England Patriots have struggled in their first season under Jerod Mayo, but most assume the head coach will at least be given a second year to turn things around. One longtime reporter is not so sure of that.
During a Tuesday appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Felger & Mazz” show, Greg Bedard of Boston Sports Journal was asked if he believes there is a scenario where Mayo could be fired by the Patriots after just one season. Bedard said there was already some “second-guessing” over the summer about whether Mayo was the right hire.
“I’ll tell you, it’s my opinion from talking to people that I don’t think Jerod Mayo is assured of a second season if this is a complete dumpster fire,” Bedard said, as transcribed by Conor Ryan of Boston.com. “Now I don’t think that’s likely, but considering where we are in Week 7, they are weeks away from even a bye week trying to reset, not that that’s going to do any good with this coaching staff.
“But I think it would be wise for Jerod to get on top of things. If that means him going into the defense meeting room, taking over play calling, something. If this is the way the rest of the season is going to go, a lot of people are going to get fired.”
The Patriots began their season with a surprising road win over the Cincinnati Bengals. They then lost to the Seattle Seahawks in overtime in Week 2. They have lost five straight games since then and looked like arguably the worst team in the NFL.
Mayo inherited a bad roster that went 4-13 last year under Bill Belichick. One line of thinking was that the relationship between Belichick and Mac Jones created a toxic culture in New England. At the very least, owner Robert Kraft probably felt a head coach change would yield similar results or a slight improvement.
There is still time for Mayo and company to turn things around, but the 83-year-old Kraft is not getting any younger. It can’t help that Belichick is now publicly taking shots at Mayo.
Kraft made Mayo the head coaching in waiting before the Patriots parted ways with Belichick. Kraft seems unlikely to move on from Mayo that quickly after instilling so much trust in the inexperienced 38-year-old, but the pressure is only going to mount if the current trend continues.
