PATRIOTS HEAD COACH JEROD MAYO
PRESS CONFERENCE
October 21, 2024
JM: Obviously we're disappointed. Six losses in a row, never a good thing. Last night, after the game, I felt like we just went out there and played soft. We're playing soft at the moment, and when I say playing soft, that means stopping the run, being able to run the ball, and being able to cover kicks, which we weren't able to do. In saying that, look, do I think we have the guys in there that can turn this ship around? 100%. But, that comes through hard work, hard work on the practice field, and going out there, just getting better each and every day. Fire away.
Q: Jerod, from day one with your coaches, you've talked about being demanding without being demeaning. I'm curious how much your core belief in that has been shaken by the way that the team is playing, and what's happening around the team?
JM: That's in my DNA. Once again, a lot of these things are about relationships and treating people as human beings, so that's in my DNA. That doesn't mean we're out there coaching these guys soft. I think the coaches do a good job of coaching them hard, and obviously it would be easy if we were sitting here at 6-1 to continue to have that message. But, at 1-6, I guess it's a natural question from you, should we change up our coaching style? Right now I think that we need to continue to work hard and continue to push the players to get the results on the field.
Q: The second drive the Jaguars had in the second quarter, the first two plays was a three-yard run and then the 58-yard pass. That was a big play. It looked to me, and correct me if I'm wrong, you stayed in base. The first down play, they had the three tight ends. I think they switched to two tight ends, two receivers. But I think you stayed in base on the 58-yarder. I'm just wondering if you were okay with that, not subbing there?
JM: I am okay with that. I would say you can play base to multiple personnel groups – 21, 12, 13, it doesn't matter. The same thing with our sub packages. Now, no matter what package is out there with a big play like that, it's down the field. So everyone else really doesn't matter up front.
Q: Good morning, Jerod. I want to ask you a question related to what Mike asked first regarding the messaging, and the way you handled the team going back to the spring, even with the off-season conditioning, and then through OTAs and training camp. There's been such a significant turnover in terms of personnel, guys who weren't with you in the spring or even through training camp. Are you concerned sometimes with the messaging is different, the way it's received with those guys, because they haven't invested those hours with you and the staff out on the practice field, in the weight room, et cetera, to really fully buy in?
JM: No, that's a good question. Look, we're all continuing to get better, continuing to learn from one another. I would say the messaging is the messaging. When you hear me say we played soft, that's how I feel about it. It would be easy for me to sit up here and go through injuries and all that stuff, but that would be pointless. To me, we have to be able to go out there and perform at a high level with the guys that we have.
Q: A follow-up regarding Drake [Maye]. You and Eliot [Wolf], when you met with us in the spring around draft time and talked about meeting him and the things you liked about him, the way he didn't throw teammates under the bus at North Carolina, his toughness, et cetera. He's been through two games, and he's been in some adversity, and he's played well for long stretches of those two games. What have you seen from him? What have you discovered that's new about Drake Maye or pleasantly surprising about your quarterback that you didn't really know when you drafted him?
JM: Well, I would say it's his overall toughness. He's still out there, he's taking hits and getting back up and still stepping into the pocket. I think he's doing a good job. When you talk about progress from game one to game two, no turnovers yesterday, which is headed in the right direction. He's definitely playing at a good level for us.
Q: Hey, Jerod. I want to ask you, what's the balance like for you, obviously knowing the game, and knowing what to do from your playing career, but realizing that guys aren't you, and having to work through that as a coach and how to adjust to that?
JM: That's a good question. What I would say is these are professional football players in there. This isn't college. My messaging to them is, this is a job. We play a game, but this is a job. We all get evaluated on a day-to-day basis and obviously on game day, and we just have to do better. I don't really use that experience of me being a player. I try to coach everyone in their own unique style, but at the same time, we've just got to perform better.
Q: Hey, Jerod. I had a question about the whys of some of the things that you were talking about with the team, saying they played soft, and also some of the comments afterward with Kendrick Bourne, in particular, about maybe guys weren't as engaged as they should be in off-the-field habits and things of that nature. Why do you feel that there's kind of what appears to be a disconnect between your overall messaging of, 'We need to be, a hard, tough football team, engaged, playing for each other,' and what seems to be kind of developing on Sundays?
JM: I didn't hear what Kendrick said, but what I will say, I'm not sure if he's talking about some of the off-the-field issues that have kind of creeped up here the last couple weeks. Is that what he was talking about?
Q: He was saying guys staying up too late, maybe not having the best diet and off-field preparation. It wasn't necessarily off-the-field, other aspects.
JM: To me, that's part of being a professional. That's part of being a professional. This is your job, and your job's not only inside this building but also outside this building. Taking care of your body and all that stuff, that's part of it, and that equals longevity in this league. For me, the messaging is we just need to get better. We have to do everything a little bit better. You look at the game yesterday. We started off fast. We talked about starting fast, and then, obviously, it was disappointing to end the half and really couldn't get things started in the second half. That just comes through continuing to grind, continuing to push through. So, look, you want to get to heaven, you've got to go through hell sometimes, and it may feel that way right now, but hopefully, we turn this around.
Q: Just in terms of stopping the run, that obviously has been a glaring weakness the last three weeks. What do you see there? Is it the defensive line? Is it filling gaps? What's the rationale?
JM: It's the front seven, and we just have to be more disciplined, build on a wall and defeating blockers in front of us. Look, it's not the X's and O's. We just have to be where we're supposed to be. Last week, it was the big runs that really – we talked about taking away those three big runs, and it's not a problem. We're not even having this conversation. Yesterday, it was almost like death by a thousand cuts where it was 4 yards, 6 yards, 5 yards, and, I mean, that's tough. That's tough. I would like to sit here and say, 'It's this guy, that guy.' I'm not going to do that. It's all of us up front.
Q: When you hear of players speaking out, whether it was Kendrick Bourne or Daniel Ekuale this week, Davon Godchaux previous weeks, do you see that as a method of self-policing, or is it possible potential to create a divide in the room?
JM: Yeah, I don't think it creates a divide in the room at all. I think just how I use the media sometimes for messaging, I think some of the players do the same thing. I'm not going to tell them, 'Say this, say that.' No, if that's how you feel, if you feel like you're the best player in the league, then go out and do it. If you feel like you want to challenge your brother beside you, I mean, go out and do it. Just, I think they use it as a tool to get guys going.
Q: Jerod, I don't want to read too much into social media, but Ja'Lynn [Polk] posted then deleted a peace sign emoji on his Instagram story after the game. Some people interpreted that a certain way. I'm just wondering if you spoke to him about that or have any reason to question his commitment to the team after yesterday?
JM: I have not spoken about that, and I don't question his devotion to the team at all.
Q: When it comes to some of the penalties and discipline errors, it seems like a lot of them lately have come from veterans and sometimes captains. So, I wonder, as a coach, is it more discouraging when it's your leaders committing some of those errors, and where's the fix when it is, again, the guys that you look to for leadership kind of committing those errors?
JM: Yeah, no matter who it is, whether you're a rookie or a veteran player, penalties are just unacceptable. You see what happened yesterday. We jump offsides and then they go for two points. It's like, we're giving these guys extra opportunities by shooting ourselves in the foot, and that's just not good football.
Q: K.J. Osborn posted something on Instagram, like a text exchange with his agent, and his agent said, 'We have to figure out this situation, or we'll work to figure out this situation.' What is the situation with him that's going on, I guess?
JM: I'm not sure what the exact situation is. He's probably frustrated because he's not playing as much as he wants to. I understand that. If you think you should be out there on the field and not having those opportunities, you will get frustrated. It's a natural human reaction. I would hope that they would keep that stuff in-house, and I have that open door policy. If he feels a certain type of way, he always has the ability to speak to me, but that's those guys' freedom of speech.
