How David Pastrnak, Jayson Tatum Inspires Jerod Mayo’s Coaching Philosophy

If it wasn’t clear after an offseason and through the first three weeks of the NFL season, Jerod Mayo will be a different Patriots head coach than Bill Belichick.

Mayo kept some qualities of the former New England head coach, but fans already have seen little things from Mayo that differentiated himself from Belichick. From having official coordinators to having a “C” on the jerseys for team captains, Mayo wants to be a good football coach while also rewarding his players and staff.

The 38-year-old also offered insight into how he views the game by highlighting a pair of Boston stars.

“Football is football. The game is about space,” Mayo told reporters Friday, per team-provided video. “I try to explain that to the coaches. I try to explain that to the players, even my son. Most of these team sports is about space. Obviously, you can look at football 3-by-1 is about space. Same thing in hockey. You watch hockey, they’ll overload a side and have a guy (on the other side). Now depending on who this guy is over here, you’ve got to make a choice defensively. It’s about space. If it’s a superstar player in hockey (David Pastrnak). If you double-team this guy, but now you’re light (on the other side).

“Same thing in basketball. If you have Jayson Tatum (on one side) and someone who’s not really a scorer and we overload one side. You’ve got to make a choice. Either you double-team Jayson Tatum and be short over on the overload side or just play it straight and (Tatum) has a 1-on-1. Same thing soccer. It’s about space, overload a side, cross it, do whatever.”

Mayo noted he does have a relationship with Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, who has highlighted his respect for Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola as an inspiration for his team.

You certainly want Pastrnak isolated at a face-off circle for his iconic one-time powerplay slapshot. Tatum on an iso is a different story that hopefully Mazzulla told Mayo about while the Celtics coach sat in during meetings.

Still, that philosophy could serve New England well for this Sunday when they face a San Francisco 49ers team that is extremely efficient in exploiting space on the football field.