Patriots ‘Striving Towards’ Living Up To This Jerod Mayo Saying

The Patriots lived by the same tagline for over two decades, and the "do your job" mindset helped New England hang six Super Bowl banners at Gillette Stadium.

But Bill Belichick is gone, the Patriots are no longer a perennial championship contender and the onus is on Jerod Mayo to turn things around in Foxboro, Mass. The linebacker-turned-coach will try to do so in a different fashion than his predecessor, which includes his own mantra that could help shape the team's rebuild.

"Are the Patriots a playoff team? Listen, we're not really playoffs or bust. I would say we're just looking for progress," vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf said Tuesday on "Up & Adams," as transcribed by MassLive. "Jerod (Mayo) has a saying, 'Process, progress, payoff,' and that's really something that we're striving towards."

Wolf added: "We have a lot of good players on our team. We have a lot of things that didn't go right for whatever reason the last couple years, but we have a lot of good players on our team and we're hopeful that we're headed in the right direction."

Trying to go from cellar dweller to one of the better teams in the league isn't going to be an easy task for the Patriots. It's going to take time, and folks highest on the totem pole at One Patriot Place seem to be operating with a level of patience as the team ushers in a new era.

This might force fans to become restless at times, but Mayo appears to have a clear plan in place to restore a winning culture in New England. And if Wolf's remarks are any indication, everyone with the Patriots is bought in.