Once a dynasty under new UNC coach Bill Belichick, the Patriots are nothing more than a laughing stock this season. Falling to their 11th loss of the season in Arizona, things are seemingly falling apart in New England. As you might already know, their first-year coach, Jerod Mayo, is already infamous for throwing his players under the bus. Remember him calling out the Patriots “a soft football team” after their loss to the Jags in London.

Yeah, something similar happened this week revolving around their OC, Alex Van Pelt. When the Patriots failed to convert a third-and-fourth-and-1 deep into the Cardinals’ territory. It exposed their lack of proper offensive play-calling on Sunday. They decided to run the play using both Antonio Gibson and Rhamondre Stevenson. However, the Patriots didn’t get anything out of the possession, even when their rookie QB, Drake Maye, showed his running capabilities this season.

So, when NBC Sports Boston’s reporter Phill Perry asked Mayo why he didn’t utilise Maye running on those plays. Mayo was like, “You said it. I didn’t.” Judging by his comments, it looked like Mayo called out Van Pelt’s tactics. But within less than 24 hours of his comments, the Patriots coach cleared the air on The Greg Hill Show. “I know there’s a lot of chatter about the question last night….It was more of a defensive response…because, ultimately, all of those decisions are mine. I back Alex 100%.”

Well, Mayo didn’t stop there, and he further clarified, “We have quarterback design runs, just haven’t pulled them out yet.” When will he put them out? The Patriots’ season is over. They don’t really have anything to play more. Even their rookie signal-caller had enough confidence in himself to pull off that play. Sharing his thoughts post-game, Maye was like, “I was a good quarterback sneaker in college. There may be a conversation for that.” 

But right now, it seems like Jerod Mayo has a lot of work to do in Foxborough. Because Robert Kraft’s eyes are on him as the Patriots continue to find their rhythm post-Bill Belichick and Tom Brady era.

Robert Kraft stands behind Jerod Mayo’s revolution in New England

Jerod Mayo took over a Patriots team that went 4-13 in 2023. And it always looked like the 38-year-old would have a lot of work to do to help the Patriots get back into their glory days. However, their fans wouldn’t have imagined such a drop-off under Mayo. You can say the Patriots are considerably worse than they were last season under Belichick. Just look at their numbers. After 15 weeks of the NFL, the Patriots rank 31st in overall yardage and points per game.

Their defense isn’t great, either. The Patriots rank 20th in yards allowed and 21st in scoring, thereby showing their lack of flair on both sides of the gridiron. However, the Patriots’ leadership is still willing to stand behind Mayo. As per Dianna Russini of The Athletic, “The Patriots leadership is standing by head coach Jerod Mayo.” Although there have been growing frustrations with the way his team has regressed this season, Kraft is not ready to pull the plug yet.

The Pats will most certainly get another higher draft pick this season. And they could utilise it to bring some fresh reinforcement and help Drake Maye grow as a QB. However, Mayo needs to show something in the final weeks of this year’s NFL. Otherwise, who knows, maybe Kraft will have a change of mind after the end of this season.