Jerod Mayo Took Backhanded Shot At Bill Belichick With Patriots QB Talk

Bill Belichick is completely responsible for torpedoing Mac Jones' progression in 2022, the ever-pivotal second season for the then-Patriots young quarterback.

Belichick, faced with having to replace offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, turned to the two-headed monster of Matt Patricia and Joe Judge to lead a New England offense spearheaded by the sophomore quarterback.

"I think they're both good coaches. Ultimately, it's my responsibility, like it always is. So if it doesn't go well, blame me," Belichick told The Boston Globe ahead of the 2022 NFL season.

It didn't go well, of course, and largely marked the beginning of the end for Belichick's dynastic tenure in New England. Jones is now a backup in Jacksonville, Belichick is unemployed, and the Patriots' new head coach, Jerod Mayo, was more than willing to blame Belichick for Jones' Foxboro failures -- even if the rookie leader didn't mention his predecessor by name.

"We always talk about that jump from Year 1 to Year 2 and how significant that year is, or that bridge is to Year 2, and I would say it that it was a combination of things that really kind of hindered that growth in his second year," Mayo told reporters Monday at the AFC coaches breakfast. "One thing I did learn about that process was as you continue to develop a quarterback, it's not only the players you put around them but also the coaches you put around this guy.

"(It's) not only the coaches, but you can all the way to the ops teams, things like that, to support a guy who plays the most important position in sports."

Mayo had a front-row seat to it all as a member of the Patriots coaching staff under Belichick dating back to 2019. Not only that, he played in New England and saw how Tom Brady was able to work with assistant coaches like Josh McDaniels, Bill O'Brien on a day-to-day basis, and he got an understanding as to how those coordinators were able to lean on their assistants. He even saw front offices led by Scott Pioli or Nick Caserio worked with Belichick and the coaching staff to build an infrastructure that benefited Brady and the offense.

Now, tasked with leading his own operation, Mayo and the Patriots are staked with leading a rebuild that presumably starts with finding the next franchise quarterback. It's clear Mayo was paying close attention to Belichick's handling of Jones and wants to avoid a similar fate with whoever the next guy is, especially knowing the perilous nature of trying to succeed as a young quarterback in the NFL.

"To ask a rookie to come in and do that, it's always going to be tough and you get to Year 2, you want to see that jump," Mayo added. "Then in Year 3, you want to see success as this straight line, but realistically that's not what it is. It's a bunch of ups and downs, and I just think supporting a quarterback is one of the biggest things."

There's still work to be done in that regard with a roster that lacks a franchise left tackle or game-changing receiver. That could come in next month's draft, too. But the Patriots have already started to build the infrastructure with quarterback-friendly staff additions like Alex Van Pelt, T.C. McCartney and Ben McAdoo.

"I feel very good about the staff that we have," Mayo said. "We have guys -- TC, AVP, even McAdoo -- are all guys who bring a certain skill set to the quarterback position. Now the balance is, look, he sometimes needs to hear that one voice. What happens sometimes with younger quarterbacks, they have their quarterback guru, they have their quarterbacks coach, most offensive coordinators are quarterbacks coaches, so, look, those guys have worked together in the past, they're on the same page to support any quarterback that we bring in."

The Patriots under Mayo and Eliot Wolf have even used the backup quarterback position to grease the skids for whoever they draft. Jacoby Brissett comes back to New England, presumably understanding a big part of his job will be working with the coaching staff to bring along a younger QB.

"Look, he's definitely a starter in this league, and I would also say he's a good mentor to quarterbacks across the league," Mayo said of Brissett.

In hindsight, it's no less wild that the Patriots under Belichick thought they could make 2022 work. The quarterback room consisted of Jones and rookie Bailey Zappe under the tutelage of Patricia and Judge. It's actually kind of impressive they were able to win eight games, but the damage was done.

That the defensive-minded Mayo even acknowledged quarterback is the most important position in all of sports let alone football speaks volumes about the philosophical shift happening at Patriot Place.

Listening to Mayo -- and watching what he has done so far with his roster -- it's clear he and the Patriots couldn't wait to begin to untangle the quarterback mess left behind by Belichick.