Patriots Head Coach Jerod Mayo: ‘We’re a Soft Football Team’

The New England Patriots lost 32-16 to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. It marked the sixth straight loss for New England, the longest losing streak for the franchise in 31 years. Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo spoke with the media after the game, touching on several topics. One of the head coach’s statements garnered the most attention from his postgame comments.

“Look, we’re a soft football team across the board,” Mayo stated.

Nobody watching the game against the Jaguars would disagree with Mayo based on that performance. Jacksonville entered the game with a 1-5 record but manhandled New England after the Patriots early 10-0 lead. The Jaguars ran the ball 39 times in the game, including a 2024 NFL-high 17 times in a row. Jacksonville finished with 171 yards rushing and two touchdowns on the ground. Meanwhile, quarterback Drake Maye led the Patriots in rushing for the second week in a row, this time with only 18 yards. As a team, New England’s running backs combined for 20 yards on 12 carries.

Also Read – Ten Takeaways From the Patriots 32-16 Loss to the Jaguars

But a self-proclaimed ‘run-first” team getting dominated in the ground game wasn’t the only criterion classifying the Patriots as a soft football team according to their head coach.

What Makes a Team Tough?

“We talk about being a tough football team,” Mayo began. “That’s being able to run the ball, that’s being able to stop the run, and that’s being able to cover kicks. And we did none of those today.”

In addition to the large discrepancy in the rushing game, New England allowed a 98-yard punt return touchdown to Jacksonville’s Parker Washington in the second quarter.

PARKER WASHINGTON. 96-YARD PUNT RETURN TD.

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“Look, back to the drawing board,” said Mayo. “We can’t just sit here and pout. We just got to put a game together.”

What Caused the Patriots To Be Soft?

After declaring that the New England Patriots were “a soft football team across the board,” Jerod Mayo was asked what caused this.

“I’m not sure,” responded the coach. “I mean, it’s something that, you know, I have to think about. You know, we have a long flight back and I’m not sure. It’s not like all of a sudden we did something different and now we’re a soft football team. It’s just the mentality that we’ve got to get back in the guys.”

Jerod Mayo’s Introductory Message Revisited

When the New England Patriots replaced Bill Belichick with Jerod Mayo, it was immediately clear things would be different under the new head coach. The messaging began at Mayo’s introductory press conference.

“You have to show them [players] that you care about them before you get into X’s and O’s,” said Mayo.

Mayo answered a question about replacing a coaching legend in New England.

“I’m not trying to be Bill [Belichick],” Jerod Mayo explained. “Bill is his own man.”

Several comments stood out from Mayo’s first meeting with the media as head coach. He stated he wanted, “No complainers, no finger pointers.”

Mayo added that three points of emphasis for him getting work were to, “Rebuild relationships, knock down silos, and collaborate.”

Finally, Jerod Mayo stated, “Players win games, coaches lose games.”

It was not difficult to connect the dots from Jerod Mayo’s comments to reports of dysfunction in the New England Patriots during Bill Belichick’s final season with the organization in 2023. Mayo received a “players’ coach” label before even meeting the media. His introductory comments reinforced that notion.

What’s Next for the New England Patriots?

Jerod Mayo publicly calling out his team goes against several comments made in that introductory press conference. Mayo’s comments made him sound like the finger pointer he said was not wanted in New England. He had talked at length about relationship building, but how did these comments sit with the others occupying the Patriots’ locker room?

To his credit, Mayo said in his postgame press conference, “It starts with me and it’s about just the mentality of going back to having a tough football team.” But his comments did not start with that. Mayo said that in response to a question about the Patriots coaching staff. His comments started by declaring he was the head coach of a soft football team.

Unfortunately for the New England Patriots, they will have difficulty competing this season based on injuries, experience, and overall talent. But the team can certainly play harder, smarter, and tougher than what they showed on Sunday. Will Jerod Mayo’s message motivate his team to perform better, or build up the silos he wanted to knock down? Stay tuned.