Bill Simmons rips Jerod Mayo for coaching ‘scared football’ with Patriots
"This spring, Jerod Mayo needs to find an author to help him write a book called Scared Football."
Bill Simmons doesn’t seem to be a huge fan of Jerod Mayo.
The longtime Boston sports scribe and “The Ringer” founder has not held back when it comes to calling out Mayo and the repeated flaws and lapses that have hindered a 3-9 Patriots roster.
It didn’t take Simmons long to throw another barb at New England’s coaching staff in the early stages of the Patriots’ 34-15 loss to Miami.
Less than 30 minutes into Sunday’s matchup against the Dolphins, Simmons took to social media to take umbrage with New England’s lack of aggressiveness.
“This spring, Jerod Mayo needs to find an author to help him write a book called Scared Football,” Simmons posted. “Just throw all his scared concepts and strategies in there — passing up 4th and 1s, handing off on 3rd and 16 to set up 45 yard FGs, just rattle all of them off. SCARED FOOTBALL.”
A parade of penalties (nine total, seven accepted by Miami) and porous defensive play by New England put them behind the eight-ball in the first half — with the Dolphins entering halftime with a 24-0 lead.
But New England also struggled to generate any sort of momentum on offense in the early going.
As Simmons noted, New England passed up an opportunity to go for it on 4th-and-1 from its own 39-yard line on its opening drive — opting for the safe call over turning to Rhamondre Stevenson or Antonio Gibson on the ground.
In the sequence that led to Joey Slye’s missed field goal in the first quarter, New England was staring at a 3rd-and-16 from Miami’s 30-yard line. It was a tough spot to be in after tackle Demontrey Jacobs was whistled for a hold — sapping plenty of momentum.
But instead of putting the ball in Maye’s hands in hopes of making life a bit easier for Slye with a closer kick — New England chose to run the ball, with Rhamondre Stevenson gaining just three years.
New England’s conservative approach has backfired in recent weeks, especially with the team’s defense also regressing over that same stretch.
After relinquishing over 400 yards of offense to the Rams last week, New England’s D coughed up four touchdowns and 373 total yards to Miami at Hard Rock Stadium.
This is just the latest shot across the bow fired from Simmons against New England’s coaching staff.
“This is the worst-coached Pats team since Rod Rust. They play all the hits every week — dumb penalties, drops, special teams mistakes, incredibly poor play calling,” Simmons posted on X in October. “Each week is worse than the last. You get what you pay for.”
The Patriots went 1-15 during Rust’s lone season coaching New England in 1990. It still stands as the worst record in franchise history.
The 2024 Patriots may not be mired in that same level of ineptitude, but Sunday’s lopsided loss was still a stark step backward for New England.
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