PATRIOTS HEAD COACH JEROD MAYO
PRESS CONFERENCE
December 26, 2024
JM: Good morning. Hopefully everyone had a good Christmas. Happy holidays to everyone. Yesterday for me was good. Spent time with family and watched some football. I will say, you stay thinking about the Chargers as well. It was a good time to spend with family and now we're back at work. Talked to the guys a little bit about compartmentalizing. When you're with your family, you're with your family, but now it's go time. It's show time and we have to get ready to play a good football team here Saturday.
Q: What's that balance like now going forward, all football in a short week coming off the holiday? What's your biggest message to them?
JM: It's all about football and it's about execution. It's not about the weather. It's not about any of those outside things. It's not about the family being in town. As soon as you cross the white lines, it has to be all about football. As soon as you enter these doors, it has to be all about football. We're here to win football games and that's what we intend to do.
Q: How much, if at all, do you talk to the players about embracing the role of spoiler?
JM: Yeah, we've had those conversations. I would also say it just goes back to whoever's playing the best that day is going to win the football game. What you did last week or the week before really doesn't matter, and that's the beauty about this game.
Q: Jerod, how much work did you guys do on Ladd McConkey before the Draft, and what do you remember about him?
JM: Yeah, we did some work on him. A guy that can get open versus man-to-man coverage. Look, he's playing well right now. He also does a good job finding space in the zone coverages. He's definitely a player you got to keep your eye on.
Q: When it came to not selecting a player like that, how much was it due to his position being a slot receiver and you guys having a slot receiver?
JM: I mean, look, as a whole, I would say we're always looking to improve our roster. Now, what position that happens to be could change on a daily basis during those times. Look, we got the guys that we have here and our focus is just on this game.
Q: Jerod, on Tuesday, Ben Brown didn't participate in practice. The projected injury report that came out yesterday was the same thing. Are you preparing for potentially putting Cole Strange in that position? How are you planning around Ben Brown suffering from this concussion right now?
JM: Yeah, Ben Brown is in the protocol. Once they go into the protocol, it's really out of our hands. It's in the league's hands. Now, in saying that, we have to have guys ready. You think about Lecitus [Smith], you think about Cole, you think about those guys, and they got to be ready to go.
Q: I know Kyle [Dugger] is healthy enough to play. He's been playing a lot. Also has been listed with the same ankle injury for what feels like most of the season. How much do you feel like that's hampered the Kyle Dugger you know and coach when he's healthy? How big is that gap?
JM: I don't want to get into how big the gap is. What I will say is, Dugger is obviously pushing through something and we all appreciate it. From our perspective, that's what football is all about this time of the year. There are many people dealing with nagging injuries that may or may not have to get addressed at the end of the season. He's doing his best and we appreciate it.
Q: Jerod, in the position you're at, first year coaching. The players, as you know, staunchly defended you. They've said what we've seen from you is the same thing they're trying to do, growing from day one to where we are now. What are some of the things that you've grown best at, and also grown with the players in doing what you do?
JM: Look, I understand the question. It's a great question. That's more of an after-the-season type of reflection point for me, personally. I appreciate the players and wanting to go out there and play hard every single day. I know the record sometimes is hard. When your record is like this, to go out here and play on a down-after-down basis, The guys have been doing that.
Q: Jerod, you talk about compartmentalizing. For many, many years, nobody did it better than this team, whatever was facing off the field, on the field, from week-to-week. What are the keys to compartmentalizing?
JM: Yeah, to me, look, this is a job. It's a sport that we all grew up dreaming of playing in the NFL at the highest level. Sometimes I think, just in general, me as a player, you forget that it's a job sometimes. That's the one thing that these guys have to remember. You can break it down all you want to on 'family,' but it is a job.
Q: We heard from Keion [White] on Tuesday. He was pretty hard on himself, the way he thought he'd been playing, especially against the run. Just in general, talking about, 'I don't take any moral victories from me. We're here to win. We're not winning,' and you can sense that frustration. How do you balance that with, 'The hard work part of it works. If we just keep at it, maybe we'll get that run?'
JM: I think it's commendable for Keion to sit there and look in the mirror himself. You have to be honest with yourself. I have to be honest with myself, and so do the rest of the coaches and players. Oftentimes, that's very difficult. Going back to Keion, he recognizes that. He's taking steps to get better for these last couple weeks of the season. That's doing extra work. That's doing extra treatment, extra in the weight room, all of those things. Hopefully, we get the Keion that we all want to see here on Saturday.
Q: What did you think of Marte Mapu's performance last week? Is he one of the players that you want to continue to see more of when you mention young guys get more chances?
JM: Yeah, it was good to get Marte out there, a guy that's versatile, smart, can play safety, play linebacker. For him to get that interception, obviously, we want him to stay in the end zone, but that was a huge play. Then I think it was the next play, he had an opportunity to get another one. He's another guy that still has room to grow, and I think he recognizes that.
Q: Jerod, obviously it's a short week, holiday, and the fact that Jim Harbaugh's teams are always among the toughest at whatever level, wherever he's been. How much do you think this game might be a reflection of the toughness and focus you want to see from your team?
JM: I'm not sure. I think the guys are dialed in. We had our squad meeting this morning, and the guys had a great Christmas with their family, and they're ready to go out here and play. That's what we need to do.
Q: We've talked a couple times this year about Kayshon [Boutte] and his growth and his development over the course of the season. The last few games, the production has been pretty impressive. What is he doing now, maybe, that maybe he wasn't doing earlier in the season?
JM: I don't know about now. I would say, coming into the season, he had shown tremendous growth off the field. You can tell he's really a professional. He's putting in the extra work, and it's showing up on game day.
Q: Oftentimes, coaches can see – when you're winning, it's easy to see who the football players are, who really wants it. Have you seen that in the losing year, even though it's tough to lose? If any player has separated themselves, it's a guy that comes to work every single day, cares immensely. Do you see that separation?
JM: I always talk about the cream will eventually rise to the top, and going through these tough times with our feet to the fire, you really start to see the guys that are with you and the guys that aren't. I would also say, you grow through pain. You grow through these types of experiences. With our record, we all have a lot of room to grow.
Q: Following up on Sophie's [Weller] question about center, you mentioned Lecitus and Cole. Is that a situation where they sort of were competing to step in there, or is there a clear, 'Hey, if Ben's not there, we know it's going to be one or the other?'
JM: We'll see how it goes today. We'll see how it goes today.
Q: I know you talked about the defensive talent – Derwin [James], [Joey] Bosa, Khalil Mack – the other day, but from a coaching standpoint, Coach [Jesse] Minter and his staff, what do you admire about how they play defense?
JM: For me, it's the versatility. I grew up in a versatile defense. We coach versatile guys, and I would say, you look at their guys defensively, they're all versatile players. We talk about Bosa and Mack rushing, but those guys can also drop. You talk about Derwin James; one snap, he could be in the middle of the field. The next snap, he could be blitzing off the edge. So, I think he does a good job just putting those guys in positions to go out there and maximize their athletic ability.
Q: I know you were laughing along with the rest of us when you saw Hunter [Henry] and Drake [Maye] come in together to go to the podium.
JM: How did that go? When I walked out of here, I just said, 'You guys go in there, two for one.' How did that go? I didn't watch it.
Q: It went well.
JM: It was good? Alright, perfect.
Q: What is it about that connection that you've noticed throughout the season? They're coming into the podium together, so clearly it's growing.
JM: Not only Hunter, I would take that entire room. When you talk about consistency – and I've talked about we need to be more consistent as a team – but when you look at that tight end room, that's probably our most consistent room in the building right now.
Q: On game management, for someone that's never put on the headset and been a head coach in the NFL, what's one thing that maybe someone that hasn't put on the headset and done that job wouldn't know, now that you've experienced it on making all those game management decisions?
JM: I think the main thing is just staying ahead of the game. Really, it's about anticipation. When it's all said and done, I have to make a decision that I think is going to put us in the best chance to win.
