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SHOCKING: England Patriots head coach explains to press conference why he made decision to…
Here’s what New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo had to say on Wednesday, May 29th, 2024.
Opening Statement:
“Doing well. Excited to be back out here. Look, great weather. Guys are going to come out here and compete, so it’s going to be a fun day.”
On what they’re working on:
“Everything. We’re kind of getting into real football now, so first, second, and third down. We’ll continue to just move that way. Next week, we’ll get into some other things. But first, second, and third down, now you got to put the sticks into it, and building that awareness on both sides of the ball is important.”
On the progress he’s seen from Drake Maye:
“Look, he’s taking advantage of the opportunities that he gets. And look, we’re all being evaluated. I’m being evaluated, the players are being evaluated, and hopefully,
everyone’s open to feedback. Stacey [James] just told me some things I did wrong the last time I was up here. So it’s all good.”
On if there’s any concern Maye’s not getting enough reps due to the fact they have four quarterbacks:
“No, not right now. And my message is, it’s not how many opportunities, it’s what you do with the opportunities that you get. And look, going back to the competition part of it, the better you do on a day after day basis, not only on the field, but also in the classroom, the more reps you’ll get going forward.”
On the ‘Patriot Way’ and Bill Belichick’s way of doing things, and what he’s doing to establish his own culture:
“Honestly, in my opinion, let me say in my opinion, I couldn’t articulate what the Patriot way is. I just know that hard work works. And that’s how I looked at the Patriot way, is that we just worked harder than everyone else. And I believe in that philosophy as well. So we’ll be out here working hard. And look, you try to put the guys in difficult situations to see how they respond. You put them in the weight room, heavy weight on their backs,
see how they respond, and try to build a tough, dependable football team.”
On the process of marrying the old system with the new system with his new coaching staff:
“Honestly, it’s been great. I feel like we have a good combination of old, young, player, non-player. But at the end of the day, they all love football, and they know how to articulate complex ideas and kind of simplify it for the players. So you hit it on the head. There’s a good mix of guys, even that were here and that weren’t here. We brought in 17 new coaches, and I think those guys are doing a good job gelling with the rest of the staff, and it’s a work in progress.”
On Brian Belichick and what’s it been like just having him stick around:
“He’s been fantastic. He’s been fantastic. And there are other guys in the organization that it’s been a little awkward for him, and those guys have handled it the right way. Look, Brian loves football, and he loves New England. I think I talked about this a little bit earlier. A guy, new baby, loves it up here and wants to stay, and we’re happy that he’s
here.”
On how he stays authentically to himself after being promoted:
“Honestly, this is me. If you talk to guys that have known me over the years, look, I do change. I’m still evolving. I’m evolving as a head coach. This isn’t the final form of Jerod Mayo, the head coach. I’ve only been doing this now for a couple of months, so we’ll see how it is going forward.”
“But at the core, I’m a father, I’m a husband, I’m a Christian. That’s my core. And so those things won’t change. Some of the philosophy things, though, and it’s not a dumb question, it actually is a good question. But some of the philosophy things, I’m still getting those in order. And I think it’s important that you talk to other coaches around the league. And you guys know Tony Dungy was here. It was great having him here and just having those discussions outside of this silo. And it’s been good.”
On if he’s been pleasantly surprised by anything or anyone at this point:
“I mean, that’s hard to say. I think the guys, no matter what group we’re talking about, and right now, I know you heard this before, but there are no starters. Just being able to mix and match different groups, that’s a hard one. Keion [White]. Look, Keion is doing a good job for us, and I would say also Keion is taking that step forward as far as being a leader. Not as much vocally, but you see him actually leading the groups and working well. If you need a name, that’s a good one.”
On Evan Rothstein and his new role:
“I don’t know if it’s a good or a bad thing, but Evan Rothstein has worked with a lot of first-year head coaches, so he has the knowledge. He understands situational football, the rules of the game very well, and also just football as a whole, not only on the offensive side of the ball, but you know, when he first got here, he worked on the defensive side of the ball as well. So he has that research, analytics, hybrid coaching model. He’s been a great resource, a great sounding board for me.”
