New England Patriots coach Jerod Mayo didn’t get off track when asked about the recent criticisms from former coach Bill Belichick. Instead of responding, Mayo kept the focus on the team in the wake of their sixth straight loss in Week 7 to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“My main focus is on the guys inside of this building,” Mayo said on Wednesday, via the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed.
After the 32-16 loss to the Jaguars, Mayo turned heads by calling his football team “soft.” Belichick disagreed with those comments and expressed his opinion that those sorts of remarks should be kept in-house.
“You know, look, I think when you criticize your team publicly like that, it doesn’t always go over well,” said Belichick, when appearing on the “Let’s Go!” podcast with Tom Brady and Jim Gray. “Now, every coach has their own style and maybe sometimes that can be effective and all, but ultimately I always felt like when a team played bad, that was my responsibility, too.”
Mayo walked back the “soft” comment by further clarifying that the Patriots were “playing soft.”
It’s important to remember this is Mayo’s first year as a head coach. So like the rookie players, he’s also learning on the job and improving as he goes along. If anything, this was a lesson on how important words at the podium after a devastating loss can be.
