Jerod Mayo On Hot Seat After Week 15 Debacle? NFL Insider Believes So

Jerod Mayo certainly did not solidify his standing coming out of the bye week.

The New England Patriots head coach not only saw his team come out flat and unprepared against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, but he made matters exponentially worse with his postgame finger-pointing. Mayo threw Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt under the bus in comments he eventually walked back.

Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer believes Mayo put himself on the hot seat with how everything unfolded in the desert. The NFL insider said he hasn’t seen a head coach make such an error in his two decades covering the league.

“If you’re blaming Van Pelt, your finger’s pointed in the wrong direction,” Breer said on NBC Sports Boston’s “Sports Sunday.” “And I think that now the score on who the head coach is in 2025 could change. I think a lot of things changed today. And I think you saw the frustration in the owner’s box, the press conference going the way that it did, I think we have to — I think everybody should be on notice now.”

Breer categorized the 30-17 loss, the clip showing a frustrated Jonathan Kraft in the owner’s bx and the postgame press conferences as a “total system failure.”

When asked if the Patriots considered running Drake Maye on either third-and-1 or fourth-and-1 in the red area, Mayo responded, “You said it. I didn’t.” The comment was perceived as an indication Mayo did not agree with Van Pelt’s playcalling.

“I’ve covered the league for 20 years, I’ve never seen a head coach do that,” Breer said. “I’ve seen in-fighting between offensive coaches and defensive coaches. I’ve seen in-fighting between players and coaches. I’ve never seen a head coach do that. You guys know how much I think of Jerod Mayo and his potential as a head coach. That was one of the worst moments I’ve ever seen at the podium from a head coach. He threw his offensive coordinator under the bus.”

Breer added: “If Jerod Mayo thinks that you should be running the ball with your quarterback in that situation, you say that in a coach’s meeting two or three weeks ago. You do not say it up at the podium like that. You are responsible for your entire coaching staff. You’re the one who hired them. You have to take accountability. You can not demand accountability from anyone else in that building if you shirk accountability in a situation like this.”

Breer believes the all-encompassing embarrassment could lead to Mayo losing his job.

“I think now, and again I haven’t heard this, but I think now all bets are off,” said Breer, who also noted Mike Vrabel is expected to be a top coaching candidate this offseason.

All told, it’s getting more and more difficult to justify why Mayo should keep his job.