Rex Ryan Calls Out Jerod Mayo, Sends Message To Patriots Coach

Rex Ryan believes Jerod Mayo needs to take a long look in the mirror.

Mayo’s rough first season as Patriots head coach hit a new low last Sunday. New England was embarrassed by the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars, and the lopsided Week 7 verdict was amplified when Mayo called his players “soft” after the contest in London.

To be fair, the Patriots subjected themselves to intense criticism via their awful showings on the field. Still, Ryan didn’t care for Mayo harshly taking aim at his players in front of the media.

“This is a young coach — this is brutal. It’s absolutely brutal,” Ryan said on ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown.” “Because you know what? It’s not a ‘we’ thing. It’s a ‘you’ thing. It’s your problem, all right? If your team’s soft, as you put it, that’s on you. It ain’t on these cats right here. Something is missing in your locker room. I don’t know what the hell it is. You sit back thinking you’re challenging your team. Challenge yourself first.

“I think that this is a comment that’s better served in private than it is publicly. Like, these are grown-ass men and you’re gonna try to embarrass them kind of in public. Look, I get it. Your team stinks. This team stinks, all right? So, you can say ‘soft.’ You can say this, you can say whatever to describe this New England Patriot team. But ‘soft’ — I hate the word.”

Patriots players didn’t seem very irked by Mayo’s candor, at least not publicly. Most vowed to use the criticism as motivation heading into Sunday’s tilt with the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium.

But if New England lays another egg in Week 8, Mayo will need to face the music.