When the regular season was about to start, coach Jerod Mayo first said, “Drake Maye is our second-best quarterback.” Then, the next day, he made a contradictory statement, saying, “Drake has outplayed Jacoby.” This provoked many to call the New England Patriots HC confused, and even Mike Florio suggested Mayo should hire a speech coach for himself.

Jerod Mayo slipped his tongue once again by calling the team “soft” after Sunday’s loss. As an after-effect, the sports analyst has a different suggestion for him. During a recent Sunday Night Football episode on NBC, Mike Florio took his audience to Mayo’s controversial comments and how he tried to clean up the mess. The 59-year-old also pointed out that Mayo had already addressed the team directly before the press conference. This makes his public comments unnecessary.

According to Florio, Jerod Mayo seemed to realize that he made a mistake and is now trying to manage the fallout. How? Well, Florio thinks he is emulating Bill Belichick’s famous approach of moving on and focusing on the next game. But here’s the suggestion! The analyst highlighted that despite following this approach, Mayo could follow NCAA Legendary coach, Nick Saban. Why? Well, as per Florio, “He would always deliver his words in an entertaining way, and you go back and look at what he said, it’s like that guy didn’t give us anything. That’s the best way to deal with it.”

Continuing with the benefits of this approach, Florio further added, “Act like you’re giving them something, and then at the end of the day, you’re really not giving them anything because anything you say, can be used against you. That’s the reality for anyone who speaks to the media on a regular basis, is part of their job. But for coaches who have to speak to the media all the time, if you come out of that locker room to The Press Room and you say we have a “soft team” across the board, what do you expect the reaction to be, Especially when it’s a proud franchise like the Patriots?”

Nevertheless, Jerod Mayo already cleared his stance after Bill Belichick’s “not a soft team” remarks. But as the outside world is against the HC and criticizing him, Mayo is lucky to have support from his own team.

Jerod Mayo criticized, but players defended him!

It’s true that every member of the Patriots needs to step up, even the coach. The team is currently sitting at 1-6. Even the former player, Ty Law, said, “He [Jerod Mayo] has to do something other than just delegating and staying there coaching, get the stuff back through his microphone. You have to be an active participant,” at the WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show.”

So, amidst these constant backlashes as well as criticisms, it’s understood that the head coach was frustrated with the results. And that’s why, he called the team “soft.” But as Jerod Mayo already explained he didn’t mean to call out players’ identities, his team understands it well.

For instance, according to running back Rhamondre Stevenson, “I think he’s challenging us. I don’t think he thinks we’re a soft team. We’re playing soft at the moment, but I think we have the guys in there that can turn this ship around.” In addition to the RB, even Defensive end Keion White echoed the same thought. He sort of agreed with his coach that they are playing soft, including him. And hence, he isn’t taking anything personally.

So, all in all, the players think Jerod Mayo’s comment is just to fuel the energy within. He wants them to play their best, and not any type of personal target. Well, that’s how the Patriots unite for each other!