Patriots Rumors: Player ‘Never Believed’ Jerod Mayo’s Staff Provided Edge

The Patriots made the swift decision to move on from now-former head coach Jerod Mayo following a season-ending win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

It’s starting to become clear why.

New England was clearly headed in the wrong direction under his leadership, and once the move was officially made, those within the building felt empowered to discuss exactly what went wrong — anonymously, of course.

Boston Sports Journal’s Mike Giardi spoke to people in and around the building regarding the change, with certain players revealing that the on-field edge they were previously used to having no longer was there.

“It became more about looking myself in the mirror and the guys in my room and huddle and saying ‘I’m leaving it out here for you.’ Because I never believed we had an edge (in coaching),” one player said.

Yikes.

Mayo’s tenure obviously didn’t provide the same level of on-field coaching as Bill Belichick’s, but there’s also a sense that he couldn’t find the right balance to the off-field aspects, either.

Mayo made the baffling decision to play cards with players following a loss to the Arizona Cardinals while the rest of his staff poured over film, which rubbed some the wrong way. Mayo also struggled with discipline, as his decision not to bench running back Rhamondre Stevenson after saying he would confuse folks around One Patriot Place.

The Patriots have some work to do to turn things around — clearly.