Jerod Mayo’s first 12 months as head coach of the New England Patriots has resulted in plenty of shedding, and plenty of cases the place Mayo has not at all times taken accountability for the crew’s failures.
Each of these issues occurred on Sunday in a 30-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
One of many topics Mayo was requested about after the sport was why the Patriots didn’t name for Drake Maye to strive a quarterback sneak when the Patriots had been dealing with a Third-and-1, after which a 4th-and-1, late within the second quarter.
The alternate was extraordinarily weird.
Mayo was requested a follow-up on what he meant by that, and added “the QB clearly has pair of legs. We simply selected to not do it.”
This doesn’t actually clear issues up.
The place this complete alternate is weird is Mayo’s preliminary response of “you mentioned it, I did not” relating to the suggestion that Maye can win.
That appears to suggest that perhaps he doesn’t assume Maye can run (which doesn’t make a lot sense given the way in which he performs) or that Maye doesn’t need to run (which additionally wouldn’t make a lot sense).
Following up by saying “we simply selected to not do it” would then appear to switch the blame to offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt. Possibly Van Pelt ought to have referred to as a run for Maye. Possibly Mayo wished to see that.
The issue with that’s Mayo is the pinnacle coach. He has the ultimate say on every thing that occurs on the sector. If Van Pelt calls a play that Mayo doesn’t like, he has the authority to override and say “do one thing else.” He additionally has the authority to inform Van Pelt, “that is what we’re doing right here on this play.”
That’s the advantage of being the pinnacle coach. It’s your crew, your recreation to name and your selections to make. You don’t get to shift blame to coaches below you when issues don’t work.
This isn’t the primary time Mayo has appeared to exit of his solution to keep away from taking duty this season, having referred to as his protection “mushy” earlier within the season and likewise saying that after the gamers get out on the sector there may be nothing he can do for them.
The poor outcomes, lack of progress and Mayo’s willingness to throw all people else below the bus is sufficient to make you surprise if he could be a one-and-done head coach in New England. This was at all times going to be a tough 12 months, however it’s going even worse than initially anticipated.
