The tall order given to Jerod Mayo to restore the Patriots’ offense might fall short this season. Apparently, the rookie New England coach is drawing some criticism. His recent “supposed” verbal altercation with Matthew Judon didn’t do him any favor. As of the time of publishing of this piece, the Pats HC found his place in the top 10 worst coaches in the NFL.

It’s crazy how he hasn’t even started the season yet and he’s already become a scapegoat. He was supposed to succeed Bill Belichick, but after the Pats fired him, Mayo didn’t hear anything from the 3 most winning coach in the league. The wheels of legacy weren’t even set in motion, and Mayo found himself in the doghouse.

Jerod Mayo gets a rude welcome!

USA Today (Touchdown Wire) did an analysis and ranked the worst coaches in the NFL recently. Apparently, Jerod Mayo is the 3 worst coach in the league behind Dennis Allen and Matt Eberflus. Dov Kleiman shared the report, and it’s surprising. That’s because the Las Vegas Raiders HC Antonio Pierce also joined the list of these frowned-upon coaches. Just so you have a better idea, here’s a list of these coaches along with their W/L record.

Keep in mind that these are the stats and figures of the teams these coaches are currently responsible for. Interestingly, Jerod Mayo, Brian Callahan, Antonio Pierce, Dave Canales, and Mike Macdonald haven’t even started their head coaching careers. Perhaps throwing them in this list is not a plausible course of action.

Let’s talk about Jerod Mayo for a second. He’s Bill Belichick’s protégé. Mayo played in the Patriots and found himself in the inside linebacker coaching position under Bill Belichick. After Belichick was fired, he rose to the ranks of the new head coach. Similarly, Antonio Pierce began as the Raiders linebackers coach in 2022 and became the interim head coach after Josh McDaniels was fired. Pierce, Canales, Macdonald, and Mayo are in the same boat and yet, it was Jerod who got the short end of the stick.

The other coaches with heaps of coaching experience under their belt also failed to deliver. Before Dennis Allen was with the Saints, he had coached the Raiders for 3 seasons. Things are a bit similar for Todd Bowles and his previous contract with Miami as an interim HC followed by a 3-season tenure with the Jets. But apart from all the apprehension that these coaches are surrounded with, Jerod Mayo’s career as HC looked most promising. But Mayo was on his own when Belichick left.

A different New England Patriots: For better or for worse?

Time and again, Jerod Mayo portrayed himself as a “player’s coach,” but that’s yet to be seen. His team hasn’t played a single game yet. Maybe we’ll get the feel of it when the Patriots enter the preseason games. His hopes and dreams quickly took a backseat when Belichick was fired from the Patriots on January 11 this year. Since then, Mayo and Belichick haven’t communicated much. He went to the Up & Adams show and gave the backstory of his head coaching career.

He was asked about his relationship with Bill Belichick, and Mayo was as honest as they had come. “So, that’s a tough question,” Mayo said when asked if Belichick reached out. “We haven’t had a lot of communication since I’ve been here. And honestly, for me, my focus is the players. It’s all about the players.” He said that he learned a lot working under Bill Belichick. But now, it seems like it is time for Jerod Mayo to be his own man and change the Pats for good.

“I learned a lot from Bill. I honestly did — X’s and O’s and also, you know, structure in practice and things like that. But, like I said, it’s a different time, it’s a different era and hopefully, we can have that same success,” Mayo said.

It’s a different era for sure, but not in the way that most people perceive it to be. Mayo is a rookie head coach dealing with Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye. Brissett, for most of his career, has been a backup quarterback. Now, he has the responsibility of levelling up Drake Maye to NFL standards. Mayo is also dealing with similar woes.

It will take some time for him to get a feel for things. Mark Schlereth, former Broncos O-Lineman, described Mayo’s situation the best. Apparently, this “player’s coach” philosophy might become Mayo’s Achilles heel in the future.

“You listen to all the reports coming out there were players like, ‘Jerod Mayo is a player’s coach, it’s a different atmosphere,’ and I’m like that’s really good until it’s not really good until you start losing,” said Schlereth and added, “Then everybody starts looking at it like, ‘Really? Are we sure that’s really good?”

Schlereth is right. Pats loyalists are unforgiving and it won’t take them long before they start going off on Mayo. The team’s roster isn’t that impressive either. On top of that, Matthew Judon, who joined the team because of Bill Belichick, is holding out because he wants his contract renegotiated. The media has already created a narrative that Mayo is one of the “worst” coaches out there. Can he recover? Did the Pats already lose before even starting? Let us know what you think.