Patriots' Jerod Mayo Must Stop Playing Blame Game

New England Patriots coach Jerod Mayo must stop blaming everyone else in the midst of his team's awful season.
Dec 15, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Dec 15, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo has done it again.

Following a rough loss, he has made some rather questionable comments, and this time, they were directed toward a fellow coach.

After the Patriots fell to the Arizona Cardinals by a score of 30-17 on Sunday, there were some questions about the play calling of offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt.

Mayo was asked specifically if there should have been more running plays called for quarterback Drake Maye, to which he provided a brutally blunt response.

"You said it, I didn't," Mayo replied, via the Patriots' YouTube account.

Ouch.

Sounds an awful lot like Mayo threw Van Pelt under the bus, which wouldn't be the first time he passed the buck during his debut campaign as New England's head coach.

Earlier in the season, he called his players "soft." He then unleashed on his players following the Pats' awful loss to the Miami Dolphins a few weeks ago.

Basically, Mayo has been pointing fingers at everyone but himself, and that's not exactly a good look for a coach who is just 3-11 thus far.

Sure, not everything is Mayo's fault. He wasn't exactly handed a talent-laden roster, and he has a point in saying that there is only so much a coach can do.

But there is also a way of handling yourself when it comes to answering reporters.

Just about all of Mayo's head-scratching remarks this year have come directly after games, so it could very well just be a heat-of-the-moment kind of thing.

But once those comments are released, they're out there for good, so it doesn't really matter when you say them.

There have been conflicting reports on Mayo's job security. Some state that he is safe regardless of what happens the rest of the way. Others feel that he could be coaching for his job.

Taking that into consideration, Mayo should probably be a bit more careful with how he chooses his words given the current circumstances.

Essentially, Mayo needs to refrain from singling people out and instead just focus the attention on himself, even if he isn't entirely to blame for the Patriots' struggles.

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Matthew Schmidt
MATTHEW SCHMIDT

Matthew Schmidt is a sportswriter who covers NFL, MLB, NBA and college football and basketball. He has been writing professionally since 2011 and has also worked for Bleacher Report, FanRag Sports, ClutchPoints, NFLAnalysis.net and NBAAnalysis.net. He was born and raised in New Jersey and has a rather eclectic group of favorite teams: the Boston Celtics, New York Giants and Miami Marlins.