Jerod Mayo Hanging Patriots Out To Dry In Media Highlights Messaging Issue

Jerod Mayo’s rookie season as a head coach is much like that of the Patriots as a whole: learning opportunities through immense struggles and a few wins.

Sunday marked another troubling moment when the Miami Dolphins totally outclassed the Patriots 34-15 in Week 12. The defense got shredded, the offensive line could not protect and rookie quarterback Drake Maye repeated turnover-worthy plays.

The bigger issue that often gets reflected in coaching criticisms is a flurry of penalties. New England took 10 penalties for 75 yards against the Dolphins that restricted the Patriots from any true adjustments Sunday.

The players have to be better in that regard, and frankly in many regards, which Mayo made clear after the game.

“Once the guys cross the white lines, there’s nothing I can do for them,” Mayo told reporters, per team-provided video. “There’s nothing any coach can do for them once they cross the white lines. It’s my job to continue to prepare, not only them but the coaches, to go out here and play better football.”

That comment got a ton of backlash on social media after the loss, and it should have. For certain reasons. There’s more to unpack here, so let’s do that.

Mayo is right: He can’t make tackles, play clean football and execute key plays for the roster. He already did that for eight seasons in a Patriots uniform. His response also came to the question of what more can he do and when is the performance simply on the players. So again, the Patriots head coach didn’t say anything that isn’t true.

The problem is Mayo saying that publicly minutes after another rendition of “It starts with me” in his effort to take accountability and do his best to move the Patriots forward. That’s inconsistent.

In fact, that word describes so much of the season for the Patriots.

The messaging is inconsistent. The roster is inconsistent. The production is inconsistent. All of it needs to be better, obviously.

Despite developing narratives, Mayo deserves time to get this right. He deserves to keep his job after this season. He deserves a roster that gets invested in this winter with another projected high draft pick and nearly $140 million in cap space. For now, he and the Patriots should be seeking one thing for the rest of the season: consistency.

The Patriots look to get right in Week 13 when they host the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium.