Jerod Mayo’s first appearance on The Greg Hill Show on Monday morning on WEEI was a lot of things.
Refreshing.
Energetic.
Telling.
Honest.
And, maybe most of all, relatable.
Taking a little time away from what he made clear was HIS process of filling out HIS coaching staff to get to know the morning show gang at Gillette Stadium, Mayo expressed so many views on his new role and what will be his new team that seemingly mirrored or regurgitated what so many Patriots fans and members of the New England media have been saying for months if not years.
Mayo was deferential and respectful to his six-time Super Bowl-winning predecessor while yet again not shying away from his spot filling those big shoes of Bill Belichick. So many of us believed it was time for a change in New England, even if dynastic successes can be difficult to move on from. “Coach and I have a good relationship, but right now I’m just focused on this staff,” Mayo said. “We just didn’t play well. I feel like Coach still has a lot left in the tank and I wish him nothing but the best.”
How about his thoughts on Mac Jones and the quarterback position? So many of us on the outside observed that Jones seemed to be a broken QB in recent years, turnovers, losing and an “experiment” gone wrong on the offensive coaching staff having broken his confidence as he regressed from Pro Bowl rookie to a healthy scratch in this season’s finale.
“When I think about Mac he obviously has talent. The confidence of a player is very fragile, especially these players now. But confidence goes a long way,” Mayo declared.
As such we all saw a team and fan base in recent years with split opinions and support of Jones and upstart fill-in backup Bailey Zappe. Things were indeed no different inside the Gillette locker room.
“It’s hard to get a whole locker room to say ‘this is the guy.’ We’re not talking about Tom Brady. Then you start losing games and we have two guys still trying to find out who they are. I’m not going to confirm that the locker room was split, but there were people who had differing opinions,” Mayo said. “Offensively everyone was frustrated.”
So, what exactly is the new New England coach looking for in HIS quarterback?
“You always want to have a quarterback that can extend plays,” Mayo said, acknowledging the trend that has taken over the modern NFL. “The quarterback has to have some type of leadership ability.”
Which obviously lends credence to the idea that the Patriots will be looking very closely at the quarterbacks available with the No. 3 overall in April’s draft, including athletic Heisman winner Jayden Daniels from LSU. But Mayo pushed back against the idea that he’s already tipped his hand in terms of that pick. There are obvious talents that will be on the board and all just so happen to also fill obvious needs in New England.
“I would say we’re going to take the best available player for the biggest need on the team. That’s what we’re going to do. Offensive line. Receiver. Quarterback. Pick your choice,” Mayo said.
Most of us would prefer a quarterback, Coach. Sounds like you may even feel the same way.
And with quarterback just part of the personnel problem on offense, Mayo is well aware that his ascension to head coach is far from the lone foundation upon which future success will be built. He made it clear in so many ways and words that he feels like the Patriots need significant upgrades at many spots and plans to aggressively attack that need with all the resources on hand.
“We’re bringing in talent, 1,000%. We have a lot of cap space and cash. We’re ready to burn some cash,” Mayo said joyfully.
Amen, Coach. Preach, Jerod!
Mayo used a long downtrodden Lions team that finds itself in the NFC title game under former player-turned-coach Dan Campbell as an example of the turnaround he hopes to see in New England. Sure he’s a youthful coach. Sure he might be able to relate to players. But it’s about the Jimmys and Joes not just the Jerod Mayos.
“One thing I’ll say about Detroit, once again, they have good players on that team! They have good players,” Mayo reiterated, again emphasizing talent. “If Detroit was still trash, what would we be saying? ‘Oh, former player doesn’t know anything.’ So it’s so easy to look at that and say he relates to everyone because he was a player, but at the same time I’m just gonna be me.”
But as he builds his new coaching staff, plans to pursue impact talent both through free agent spending and the draft and attempts to modernize the Patriots culture with love and why-based understanding, make no mistake that Mayo is hopeful and confident. Much like fans who lived through a frustrating, unfulfilling and at times tough-to-watch four-win season in 2023, Mayo isn’t afraid to admit he expects better things ahead.
“You have me on record. That we are going to win more than four games. I’m on record,” Mayo said confidently.
Like pretty much everything else Mayo said on The Greg Hill Show this week, that’s music to the ears of Patriots fans everywhere.
He talked the good talk, telling us all seemingly what we’ve wanted to hear for a couple years now.
Now, Mayo needs to start the process of walking the walk. And that’s obviously much easier said than done.
