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Jerod Mayo on his job security, focus for Patriots improvements, and Bill Belichick as a possible college HC
Mayo backed Belichick: "It doesn’t really matter what level, I think he’ll be successful.”
After Jerod Mayo reviewed the Patriots’ disappointing 3-10 record during the team’s bye week, he was asked what one factor he would identify as a point of emphasis for the team during the remainder of the 2024 season.
“Turnovers,” Mayo instantly responded when asked during his weekly interview with WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” on Monday.
“Turnovers would make everything that much better. Protecting the football, offensively, and defensively, going out there and getting the ball,” he explained. “I think right now we’re minus-6. We’ve just got to do a better job there.”
Regardless of how granular self-scouting can get, Mayo also knows the bottom line for fans.
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“I think the first thing is wins and losses,” he said when asked about how he wants to improve from his first to second seasons. “It all comes down to wins and losses.”
But in discussion of a prospective second season, the inevitable question about the first-year head coach’s future was also raised. Given the setbacks of 2024 to this point — in which the Patriots are on track to be just as bad (if not worse) than in 2023 — has Robert Kraft told Mayo he will be back for a second season?
“My main focus has just been really getting this team getting ready to play this week.”
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Asked a follow-up on the same topic, Mayo again declined to answer.
“I’m not going to get into all of that stuff,” he said. “Here I go again dancing a little bit, but my focus is on the guys in this room, the coaches on this staff, and winning this game that we have coming up.”
Mayo, whose team will face the Cardinals on Sunday in Arizona, backed himself to improve if given another year, and asked for patience as he tries to build a team of his own.
“One hundred percent. I know I’ll be successful,” Mayo told WEEI. “Look, you’re going to go through these trying times. That’s what it is. And the mark of a true leader is being able to navigate this and knowing that you’re going the right way. And I truly believe that we are going the right way.
“In short term, it may be disappointing, but in the long term, we’re doing it the right way.”
On the subject of Patriots coaches, Mayo was asked for his take about his ex-boss (and ex-Patriots head coach) Bill Belichick being linked with the coaching vacancy at the University of North Carolina.
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“He’s a great coach,” Mayo replied. “To me, it doesn’t matter if you’re a young man or a 10-year vet in the league. He’s a great teacher. I wish him nothing but the best. It doesn’t really matter what level, I think he’ll be successful.”
Mayo demonstrated what he sees as the appeal of a 72-year-old Belichick to high school football recruits.
“How would it feel if you had a legendary coach walk into your living room back when you were a three-star recruit in high school?” Mayo asked WEEI co-host Jermaine Wiggins. “How would you feel about that?”
“For me, I would be super excited because I would feel, ‘Oh, this guy could help me get to the NFL,’” Wiggins said in response. “That would be my thought process.”
“I agree,” Mayo said, noting that he had subtly labeled Wiggins as a three-star recruit to try and get a response.
“I tried to slip in a shot with that three stars, but you didn’t catch that,” Mayo joked.
“No listen,” Wiggins said, “I was going to leave [the joke] right there because I had zero stars when I was coming out of high school, so I was going to leave it at three stars. I’ll take three. I had zero.”
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