Bill Belichick Takes Aim at Patriots Coach Again

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There seems to be somewhat of a growing rivalry between former New England Patriots head coaching legend Bill Belichick and first-year head coach Jerod Mayo, who replaced him.
Multiple times during the season already, Belichick has chimed in on the Patriots. He has thrown some subtle shade at Mayo.
Most recently, Belichick was on a show with Tom Brady and Jim Gray. He was asked again about the "soft" comments that Mayo made about his New England team following their Week 7 loss.
Belichick's answer was not a very glowing review of Mayo, to say the least.
“I think when you criticize your team publicly like that, it doesn’t always go over well…ultimately I always felt that when the team played bad, that was my responsibility," Belichick said.
Bill Belichick taking another shot at Jerod Mayo. Wow.
— Savage (@SavageSports_) October 22, 2024
Per: @TomBrady, @JimGrayOfficial
“Hey coach have you ever had a soft team?”
BB: “I think when you criticize your team publicly like that, it doesn’t always go over well…ultimately I always felt that when the team… pic.twitter.com/LvUgIrWD7l
Basically, Belichick is critiquing the way Mayo is handling himself as the Patriots' new head coach.
Of course, some of this is natural. Belichick did not leave the team on the best of terms and it has been clear that Mayo has been hot on his coattails for the job from what team owner Robert Kraft has said. There may be some unresolved drama there.
Belichick is also still connected to many of the players still in New England. He was their coach last season.
In a way, he's taking some shots at Mayo while also defending his guys. He can't be faulted too much for doing that.
So far this season in Mayo's first season as the Patriots' head coach, the team has gone 1-6. Drake Maye has been one of the lone bright spots for New England thus far. Very little has gone right for them.
Hopefully, he'll start figuring out his new role as a head coach. Every first year head coach struggles in some way, shape, or form when it comes to adjusting to the new role. Mayo is no different.

Evan Massey is a sports reporter and analyst who covers college football, the NFL and NBA. He has contributed to the On SI network since July 2021. He has also written for ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, Forbes, Bleacher Report, NFLAnalysis.net, NBAAnalysis.net and many other publications. In his free time, Evan enjoys spending time with his wife and son.