On Monday morning, Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo may have hinted at an upcoming change at quarterback for his 1-4 football team.
“When do you think you’ll make a decision, if you’re gonna go with Drake [Maye] for next week?” asked WEEI’s Courtney Cox to close out The Greg Hill Show’s weekly interview with the first-year head coach.
“Look, we’re still going through the, you know, the film from yesterday,” said Mayo. “We’ll see how it goes.”
This answer is in major contrast to the way Mayo normally handles any question related to the quarterback position - at least since the regular season has started.
Normally, media is met with the same old “Jacoby Brissett is our guy” or “we’re 100% behind Jacoby” or “we have to do everything we can to make sure Jacoby is supported back there.”
You name the generic platitude, we’ve heard it.
That tune changed on Monday morning, and it started during his “Patriots Monday” interview on WEEI.
“Look, we’re in the solution business, no matter who the players are in the locker room,” said Mayo when asked by WEEI’s Jermaine Wiggins about his team’s inability to find success in the passing game. “Like, we as coaches have to come up with solutions. And I say it every week, every spot is going to be evaluated, and it still holds true today.”
In a follow-up from WEEI’s Chris Curtis, Mayo was asked if he still believed the much-discussed “development plan” for the rookie quarterback was still the most effective way to build at the position.
“Look, we’re gonna get better,” said Mayo. “And once again, I would say all positions are always being evaluated.”
“To piggyback off of his question a little bit,” Wiggy followed up. “Do you feel like at this moment right now, Jacoby Brissett still gives you the best chance of winning?”
“Look, we haven’t had our full staff meeting today,” said Mayo. “That’s a conversation - not only at that spot, but all the spots, you know, how we get better as a football team.
“We’re not playing well. It’s not a secret. And being the head coach of this team, I have to accept all the responsibility for that.”
After Sunday marked New England’s ugliest loss of the season - committing 12 penalties for a loss of 105 yards en route to a 15-10 defeat at the hands of a depleted Dolphins team - Mayo has completely swung the Drake Maye door wide open as we head into "Texans Week."
The Patriots play host to Houston (4-1) in Week 6, and are currently a 7-point home underdog at both BetMGM and FanDuel.
If a decision is made to switch the starting quarterback ahead of Sunday, that number is sure to move even further in the Texans’ direction.
Regardless of what Vegas thinks, making a move at quarterback might just be what this team needs to snap out of this four-game funk, and salvage some semblance of a season after an atrocious start to 2024.
The Patriots are off Tuesday, and return to the practice field on Wednesday.