Greg Bedard of Boston Sports activities Journal dropped considerably of a bombshell when he mentioned earlier this week that first-year New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo shouldn’t be “assured of a second season,” particularly if the group is seen as “a whole dumpster hearth” by early January.
For a mailbag printed on Wednesday, Patriots/NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports activities Illustrated urged “how locked in” New England gamers stay by means of Week 18 may decide if Patriots proprietor Robert Kraft makes one other offseason teaching change.
“That, to me, will boil right down to the type of likelihood the coaches give the gamers to win,” Breer mentioned. “As a former participant, Mayo crossed the respect bridge with the locker room the minute he took the job in that he didn’t must earn that respect the identical manner a lifetime assistant coach would possibly when turning into a head coach. However that solely goes to date. Ultimately, you must present the fellows you’ll make them higher, as people and a staff, which, in time, units all of them as much as be richer.”
Rumors about Mayo going through a possible locker-room “mutiny” emerged earlier than the Patriots fell to 1-6 and earlier than he controversially referred to as his staff “smooth” following its newest defeat. A number of New England gamers have since voiced their help for Mayo and Patriots beat author Chris Mason of MassLive insisted on Thursday that he would not assume Kraft “would make Mayo a one-and-done coach” even when the membership finishes the marketing campaign at 1-16.
“Even if (rookie quarterback) Drake Maye regresses down the stretch — which might clearly be trigger for alarm — I believe (offensive coordinator) Alex Van Pelt can be the autumn man, not Mayo,” Mason continued. “Kraft selected Mayo with out even conducting a training search. He trusted his intestine. Now I believe he’s going to keep it up even when his abdomen begins rumbling.”
As of Thursday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Patriots as seven-point underdogs for this coming Sunday’s residence recreation in opposition to the 2-5 New York Jets. For a bit printed Thursday, Karen Guregian of MassLive wrote that the upcoming divisional showdown “will serve to additional outline Mayo and his staff” and will present New England gamers “have fully tuned out their head coach.”
It is simple to say earlier than Halloween that an NFL proprietor will follow his plan. Historical past reveals a coach normally would not maintain onto his job for lengthy after he loses a locker room throughout a “dumpster hearth” of a season.
