Following the New England Patriots’ loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, a quote from head coach Jerod Mayo started making the rounds. First, it was met with criticism on social media, and later found its way into articles being written about the 34-15 defeat.
“Look, once those guys cross the white lines, there’s nothing I can do for them,” Mayo said.
It is not hard to see why that single sentence can create a stir when presented without any kind of context. Mayo, the rookie head coach whose team played one of its worst games of the season en route to dropping to 3-9 on the season, seemingly was looking for a scapegoat that is not himself.
However, Mayo very much did not do that on Sunday. Instead, he pointed to both himself and the team as a whole when it comes to fixing the issues that plagued New England in Week 12.
He said that the penalty issues would start with him, same with the slow and uncompetitive start; he also said that the coaching staff needs to “figure out what lever to pull to get a guy going.” And, yes, he also put pressure on his players.
However, he did not do so in the manner presented as a look at the full quote — including the question asked — illustrates:
Q: Jerod, you said it starts with you. But when do the players have to start looking at themselves? I mean, you can only do so much. When is it on the players?
A: Look, once those guys cross the white lines, there’s nothing I can do for them. There’s nothing any coach can do for them once they cross the white lines. It’s my job to continue to prepare not only them but our coaches to go out here and play better football.
While his statements as a whole are a departure from Bill Belichick’s tried and tested catalogue of postgame quotes, Mayo said nothing that wasn’t true here; nor did he throw his players under the bus or try to deflect blame in any way.
He simply said it as it was: he is responsible for getting the team ready, and the team is responsible for executing once on the field.
Against the Dolphins, there were breakdowns across the board in that regard; New England would otherwise not have found itself in a 31-0 hole entering the fourth quarter. The how and why between that development is the biggest issue coming out of Sunday’s game, and not the head coach’s messaging.
Just ask currently-injured team captain Ja’Whaun Bentley, who gave his reply to the hubbub on Sunday:
In fairness, Mayo’s media handling — much like his coaching — has been up and down since he took over as Patriots head coach. Part of it has to do with his style, which tends to be more open and upfront compared to how Bill Belichick treated press conferences especially after a loss. Another part is his inexperience; Mayo has spent most of his adult life in various NFL roles, but he is only 10 months into his first head coaching gig.
This has led to some comments that range from unusual to regrettable. Whether it was his statement on Day 1 at the job that the Patriots would “burn some cash” in the offseason or his recent remarks about his team controlling the game in a 28-22 loss to the Los Angels Rams last week, his messaging has been drawing some headlines.
(Could he have been playing 4D chess in order to draw attention to himself rather than his team? Possibly, but he doesn’t appear to be the type of coach to use that approach, at least at this point in his career.)
Considering the scrutiny he already faced, the standard by which Mayo is being measured appears to be a different one than what other more established coaches have to deal with. Fairly or not, his status and style in combination with the Patriots’ on-field woes this season work against him in that regard.
Even on Sunday, he did not pitch a perfect game. Claiming that he thought “the guys were locked in, just didn’t walk away with a win” was certainly an odd choice given the way the Patriots performed for much of the day.
Mayo and his team have earned their fair share of criticism, and time will tell what the future has in store for them. On Sunday, however, he did the right thing: he pointed to himself, while also not leaving his players out of the equation either.
The Patriots’ collapse in Miami was a team-wide one, and it was rightfully being treated as such by the head coach.
