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After leaving Drake Maye in the game, maybe Patriots coach Jerod Mayo doesn’t deserve a second year
It was absolute coaching malpractice to leave the Patriots’ one (1, singular) surefire offensive asset in the game at that point.
Welcome to the Unconventional Review, an instant reaction to standouts, stats, and story lines from the Patriots’ most recent game …
If the usual NFL information peddlers are correct and Robert and Jonathan Kraft are indeed intent on keeping overmatched rookie head coach Jerod Mayo on the job beyond this season, the Patriots’ 40-7 loss to the Chargers Saturday in front of an exclusive national television audience was the kind of debacle that had best make them reconsider.
It sure made me reconsider. Thus far, in part because I was extremely wrong about Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla two years ago, I’ve resisted joining the chorus suggesting that Mayo — an excellent and smart player during his eight seasons as a Patriots linebacker — should be one-and-done in the thankless gig as Bill Belichick’s successor.
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But as that actual chorus of “Fire Mayo!” ricocheted through the emptying stands at Gillette Stadium late in the Patriots’ egregious and embarrassing sixth consecutive loss, I found myself agreeing with the sentiment.
It may not be entirely fair, because this roster, save for the rookie quarterback, a second-year cornerback, and a scattered few others, stinks.
But it’s the truth and the reality: Mayo, and the rest of this overmatched coaching staff, needs to go.
Count me among the convinced now, for many reasons, most of which were evident Saturday. But a coaching change — a coaching upgrade — is necessary for Drake Maye’s sake most of all.
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Let’s start near the end of Saturday’s loss, because that’s where the most damning and egregious act happened. On a day in which Maye, the Patriots’ talented and remarkably resilient rookie quarterback, took a shot to the head on the first possession and had to visit the blue tent for a medical assessment, took another shot to the head (drawing an unnecessary roughness flag) on the first play upon returning to the game, barely avoided being the victim of a hip-drop tackle on a Derwin James sack, and already had suffered a concussion against the Jets earlier this season, Mayo made the expert decision to leave him in behind a makeshift line down 30 points with a little more than six minutes left on the clock.
It was absolute coaching malpractice to leave the Patriots’ one (1, singular) surefire offensive asset in the game at that point. Mayo attempted to rationalize it away during yet another awkward postgame press conference, saying, “We’re trying to develop a quarterback, and he wants to play. He’s a competitor.” He’s a competitor? No kidding. That’s why a coach has to make the decision to get him out of the game for him. Mayo put Maye at risk in a lost cause. That’s a fireable offense, Bob.
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There’s no evidence whatsoever that the Patriots are building something, improving even increments, or learning anything, and that includes the coach. Early in the fourth quarter, Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert seemed to get a favorable spot when he was awarded a first down on a third-and-4 scramble to the Patriots 2-yard line. The Patriots were down 23 points already, so why not challenge? Instead, Mayo did nothing, and the Chargers’ J.K. Dobbins ran it in for a touchdown and 37-7 lead.
A Patriots fan has to come out of this game wondering if this is what rock-bottom looks like. The Patriots had 6 yards in the first quarter, 5 coming on Rhamondre Stevenson’s run on the first play of the game after Mayo had said the running back would not start because of fumbling issues. The Patriots can’t block, can’t rush the passer, and gave up 40 points to a team that beat them 6-0 last year. Over their final nine possessions, the Chargers had four touchdowns, four field goals, and a lone punt. Wasn’t Mayo supposed to be a defensive coach? Wasn’t he supposed to be a good communicator?
Maye made his share of mistakes Saturday, including taking a pair of fourth-down sacks. But he still made enough savvy and athletic plays — in particular a 36-yard touchdown pass to DeMario Douglas when he knew a pending Chargers penalty had given him a free shot — that you come away imagining what he could do if he had anything approximating Herbert’s teammates and coaches. Maye playing the way he has with a minimum of help is the only encouraging thing about this team.
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Every moment from here forward needs to be dedicated to getting him more help. That includes better coaches. The chorus was correct.
Some further thoughts, upon immediate review …
Three players who were worth watching
Players suggested in the Unconventional Preview: Ladd McConkey, Hunter Henry, J.K. Dobbins.
Ladd McConkey: Yeah, you’re not exactly off the hook here either, Eliot Wolf. While getting the Maye pick right is probably enough to ensure another year of job security, McConkey’s 8-catch, 94-yard, 2-touchdown performance Saturday was a reminder of how badly Wolf botched the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
You know the story by now: The Patriots traded the Nos. 34 and 137 picks to the Chargers for the Nos. 37 and 110 picks. The Chargers took McConkey, who now has 77 catches for 1,054 yards and seven touchdowns this season, at No. 34. The Patriots took Ja’Lynn Polk, who has 12 catches for 87 yards and two TDs all season, at No. 37.
McConkey’s two touchdowns were decidedly different, and in a way may have revealed a scouting mistake by the Patriots. He scored the touchdown that put the Chargers up 17-0 on a little in-cut on a 6-yard TD, which was reminiscent of the sort of plays great Patriots receivers such as Wes Welker, Julian Edelman, and Troy Brown thrived on during their careers here.
There has been chatter that the Patriots thought of McConkey as a slot-type, maybe a little redundant with Douglas. If the Patriots didn’t know better, they’re now aware that he’s also adept as a downfield threat, as evidenced by his 40-yard touchdown catch in which he blew past Jonathan Jones to put the Chargers up 27-7.
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Just imagine the bond Maye and McConkey would have developed by now. Of course, imagining it is all we can do. Herbert should send Wolf a thank-you note.
Derwin James: It’s stunning to me that James, who is in his seventh NFL season (including one missed to injury), has been named first-team All-Pro just once. Because this guy has always been and remains a defensive menace.
Those two aforementioned fourth-down sacks that Maye took? James was the one making them happen for the Chargers.
He buried Maye for the first time for a 15-yard loss at the Patriots 23 midway through the third quarter, ducking around Patriots tackle Vederian Lowe, who didn’t seem to see him until it was too late.
The second came a little more than five minutes later, when he overpowered Antonio Gibson on the blitz pickup and took down Maye on fourth and 7 at the Chargers 31.
Oh, and it was also James that recovered a botched pitch to Douglas at the Patriots 44 in the second quarter. Menace. As always.
J.K. Dobbins: No Patriot deserves to be acknowledged here. So let’s salute Dobbins, who returned after missing the past four games with a knee injury and ran for 76 yards on 19 carries, including a 2-yard scoring run early in the fourth quarter to put the Chargers up 37-7.
Grievance of the game
The whole game was a grievance from a Patriots observer’s standpoint, and I think we’ve covered why. So let’s acknowledge a ridiculous wrong that we found out about again before the game: The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s list of 15 modern-era finalists for the class of 2025 somehow does not include former Patriots safety Rodney Harrison. Even worse, his chances of induction — which should be obvious given that the two-time Super Bowl champ is just one of two players with 30 sacks and 30 interceptions — seem to be going in the wrong direction after he made the final 15 last year. What a joke. Harrison should have been inducted years ago.
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Three notes scribbled in the margins
Predicted final score: Chargers 26, Patriots 20
Final score: Chargers 40, Patriots 7
The Chris Rose/Ross Tucker broadcast tandem was glib and mistake-prone. But Rose gets a nod of approval for referencing Larry Bird returning to the game after banging his head on the floor against the Pacers in the 1991 playoffs upon Maye’s return Saturday … Uncharacteristically tough game for Hunter Henry against his former team. The Patriots tight end didn’t have a catch and picked up a holding penalty … After running for five yards on the first play of the game, Stephenson had one more carry for minus-4 yards. At least he didn’t fumble.
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