FOXBOROUGH – Walking back remarks is one thing.
Getting obliterated by the Los Angeles Chargers at home, and having fans chant “Fire Mayo” is another.
The long-held belief has been that Mayo, who was hired to replace Bill Belichick, would be retained even after a rocky rookie season at the helm.
Given Mayo was put in a bad spot his first year, inheriting one of the worst rosters in the NFL, and needed help filling out his staff given his lack of coaching contacts, it’s been both assumed and reported he would return for 2025.
He would be afforded another chance, and more time – with added help – to right the ship.
After what transpired during Saturday’s 40-7 Week 17 loss to the Chargers, however, the Krafts need to think long and hard about running it back with Mayo.
He was reportedly safe barring what the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport described as “some type of calamity.” Or as Rapoport put it the previous week: “If things go off the rails.”
Well, that box just got checked off. Inside Gillette Stadium, the product on the field could be lumped into the calamitous category. Off the rails is another way of putting it.
It was an embarrassing display. Instead of building off last week’s performance against Buffalo, the Patriots reversed course. With one game still to play, they hit rock bottom.
Along with the “Fire Mayo” chants, the fans booed the team off the field.
“Look. you hear those things,” Mayo said. “But at the same time, they pay to sit in those seats and we’ve got to play better. If we play better, we don’t have to hear that stuff.”
There’s also been an expectation for him to coach better. It hasn’t happened. Perhaps the thinking is that Mayo won’t seem so overmatched next year with better players and better coaches around him.
Can ownership count on that happening? Can the Krafts even count on fans paying good money to watch a Mayo-led Patriots team again?
Those are the questions they have to be weighing.
Robert and Jonathan Kraft surely heard the chants from their luxury box above the field. Granted, a team’s chief decision-makers shouldn’t make moves based on the frustrations of fans.
This cuts deeper than that.
Mayo has flunked both the eye test and the ear test. How can he announce he’s starting Antonio Gibson against the Chargers and benching fumble-prone Rhamondre Stevenson, and claim to be sending a message, then start Stevenson?
And why would a coach continue to play Drake Maye, who returned after sustaining a head injury, with the game out of hand?
Those are just the latest of many curious moves the first-year head coach has made throughout the season.
Beyond that, save for the emergence of Maye, the product on the field has shown no signs of progress or improvement. Last week’s effort against the Bills was rendered moot. It’s now more plausible that the Bills took their foot off the gas pedal until it was time to win the game.
The Chargers, meanwhile, just kept the foot on the gas throughout, and the Patriots did little to stop them. They just rolled over.
“The Chargers probably wanted it more,” wide receiver Demario Douglas said. “I feel like my two years I’ve been losing, and I feel like it’s time to make a change. … I’m just tired of losing for real.”
Defensive end Keion White also talked about needing change, although he didn’t specify where that change needed to be made.
“We’re losing, so obviously, we gotta change something,” White said following the team’s sixth straight loss. “If you keep doing the same thing, you keep losing.”
For the most part, the players have openly supported Mayo. Following the blowout loss, several even chastised fans for the “Fire Mayo’” chants.
“With all respect to Patriot Nation, they’re a little spoiled. We don’t appreciate the boos. We don’t appreciate the outburst (against Mayo),” Patriots captain Deatrich Wise said. “If you’re a fan, be a fan with us through thick and thin.”
Defensive lineman Davon Godchaux was another who found the chants out-of-line.
“A lot of people can’t take (a rebuild). I know we don’t tank around here. We still want to win football games. But the ‘Fire Mayo’ chants is just ridiculous,” Godchaux said. “The guy (is in) his first year, his first season. It’s not going to be golden. We didn’t expect to go win a Super Bowl this year. I get it, nobody wants to get beat 40-7, but the ‘Fire Mayo’ chants is just ridiculous.”
Will the Kraft’s feel the same way? Will they ignore the pleas of the crowd? That’s the million dollar question.
Mayo has made a habit of stepping in too many minefields. He’s been transparent to a fault, and comes across as if he doesn’t know what he’s doing having to constantly retract comments. His in-game decision making has also been suspect.
Then there’s the product on the field. His defense – where his expertise lies – has been a disaster.
Last week’s effort against the Bills notwithstanding, the unit was supposed to be the rock. It was supposed to be the team’s strong suit.
That hasn’t been the case.
With a 40-3 win, the Chargers scored their season high. They weren’t alone. Houston and Miami also hit their highest point totals against the Patriots. Asked what gives him confidence that his defensive coaching staff is suited to be at the helm next season, Mayo didn’t flinch.
“Look, I have nothing but confidence in the coaching staff, and we’ll get better,” Mayo said. “That’s part of what we have to do.”
But that’s been a broken record response pretty much all season after inconsistent play. Saturday’s debacle merely hit the breaking point.
With one game to play, the ball’s in the Kraft’s court. They have to decide whether or not Mayo survives the latest fiasco.
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