Former Drake Maye Coach Knows Why Patriots QB Will Bounce Back

If you don't think New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye will be able to rebound from the team's gutting Super Bowl loss to the Seattle Seahawks, just take a look at Maye's sophomore season at Myers Park High School in Charlotte, North Carolina.

In 2018, Maye — who threw 50 touchdown passes that season — played against rival Butler on the road. He threw three first half interceptions in a 39-22 loss, the Mustangs' first of the year — "by far the worst game of his high school career," Maye's high school head coach Scott Chadwick told Patriots on SI.

Maye had thrown just a lone interception in the last six games he played in prior to that. The game was a complete 180 for the young star.

A month later, Myers Park and Butler squared off in the state playoffs, this time on the road. Butler was the third seed in the tournament, Maye's Mustangs were seeded six. Maye was locked in all week, Chadwick said, and was not going to lose that game.

Not at all.

"I'm telling you, he was absolutely not going to let his teammates down that night," Chadwick said. "And you could definitely see he had a different level of juice at practice that week. He was determined that the seniors, their careers weren't going to end because of him."

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye was a star for Myers Park High School in North Carolina, where a postseason victory over rival Butler can shine a light on who he is as a competitor. | Contributed by Scott Chadwick

Myers Park won 33-8. Maye threw for a trio of touchdowns, completing more than 70% of his passes. Onto the quarterfinals Myers Park went, and the crushing regular season loss was out of sight.

"He was disappointed in how he played the first time we played them," Chadwick said. "But more than that, he felt like he had let his teammates down that night, and he certainly wasn't going to let some of their careers end."

Maye's History Of Bouncing Back Began In High School

It's been a long time since Maye's sophomore year in high school, well before he committed to UNC and was named the 2022 ACC Player of the Year. Well before his name was called by New England in the 2024 draft, or when he finished second in the NFL's MVP voting one year after that.

His impressive season helped catapult a stuck-in-the-mud Patriots team all the way back to the Super Bowl, and he was the reason for it all. Yes, Mike Vrabel and the revamped coaching staff sure helped, but the play of the team's young quarterback lifted all the proverbial boats.

He didn't start every game in his rookie season, and struggled with turnovers at times under Jerod Mayo's makeshift coaching staff. One year later, he's turned plenty of pages in his developmental book.

"This is a guy that takes tremendous pride in his craft," Chadwick said. "He takes tremendous pride in the product that he puts on the field, and he cares tremendously about what he does. He wants to be the best at what he does, and so when he's not the best, he's going to do whatever he can to get to that point."

But then it all sunk down in Santa Clara, California, in Super Bowl LX. Seattle's tormenting defensive flummoxed Maye, who threw two bad interceptions (one of them returned for a touchdown) en route to a 29-13 loss, the worst defeat for the Patriots all season. Maye — left in tears at the postgame podium — tried to sum it up into words.

It was a crushing loss for the 23-year-old quarterback, now the face of an avid sports region.

"This hurts. No doubt. It definitely hurts," Maye said postgame, not referring to his right shoulder that caused worry leading up to the game. "It’s been a long ride. They played better than us tonight. They deserve to win that game. And speaking for the whole team and myself, just what a journey it’s been for us. I love this team. I love those guys in the locker room, and we’ll leave it all in the field. I know a lot of guys did that tonight and just came up short, didn’t play our best. That’s what happens."

Maye Didn't Play Valuable Years Of Football In HS, College

But he's young, and though experienced in the world of football, hasn't played that many games compared to his fellow quarterback counterparts.

"I just think he needs to continue to get reps," Chadwick said. "You got to remember, he didn't have a senior of high school because of Covid. So he only played two years of high school, he only started two years in college. ... I just think he still needs reps, and I think the encouraging thing, if you're a Patriots fan, is that this guy still has a lot of room to get better."

So onto 2026 it is for Maye and the Patriots. The lights will be brighter as the expectations increase for the MVP candidate. The schedule gets tougher, and the taste for the Lombardi Trophy will only continue to fester.

The Patriots have those same Seahawks on their schedule for next season, making a trip to the Pacific Northwest for a Super Bowl rematch. Just like traveling to a bitter rival after a terrible high school loss, Maye has a shot to do it all over again.

The defending world champions sure aren't Butler High School. Not even close. And yet, there's always hope with the quarterback who doesn't ever want to let his teammates down again.

"That's who he was in high school. It's who he was in college. It's who he is now," Chadwick said. "The person hasn't changed one bit."

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