It was anything but good this season for Mac Jones and the New England Patriots. Fresh off a season that saw them only win four games and their long-time highly successful head coach no longer being a part of the organization, all you can do now is acknowledge the mistakes and try and correct them going forward.
The man who is burdened to turn it all around is newly hired head coach Jerod Mayo. In his first appearance with the guys at the Greg Hill Show in Boston, Mayo was honest and open regarding Jones and the rest of the team and how last year played out.
Patriots’ Jerod Mayo Reveals Thoughts on Mac Jones
When it came to Bill Belichick and his time in New England, Mayo was almost comically mum with his responses. Belichick never gave too much of an answer nor showed his hand to the media when it came to anything regarding his team.
However, with Mayo now in charge, those days look to be officially gone, as the new Patriots HC was a little more forthright regarding his team.
While on the Greg Hill Show, Mayo was asked about the season and Jones specifically. He didn’t say a lot, but what was said was more than enough.
When speaking to Jones and his performance in 2023, Mayo alludes to the fact that “The confidence of a player is very fragile,” while also admitting that “We were trying to help him with that confidence,” in response to some of the decisions they made regarding Jones in 2023.
Mayo also recognizes that neither he nor the rest of the coaching staff were blameless in what happened last year in New England and admitted “There was enough blame to go around.”
2023 felt like anything but the “Patriot Way” the league has become accustomed to seeing from the franchise based in Foxborough, Massachusetts. That, amongst many other factors, is why Mayo is now in place as the head coach, and the Belichick era is now a thing of the past after almost a quarter century in charge.
Things Are Changing Under Mayo in New England
It’s evident that the Patriots have a certain way of conducting business, and the promotion of Mayo serves as another reminder of that. With Mayo now in charge, it’s clear that despite the similarities the organization enjoys and prefers are still in place, there will be subtle differences for New England that haven’t been in play over the last 24 years.
Mayo didn’t say anything outlandish, and he wasn’t even close to inflammatory with his words regarding Jones or the 2023 season. But the fact that he was forthcoming with at least a tiny glimpse of what the team went through this past season already feels like a big change compared to his predecessor.
MORE: NFL World Reacts to Quick Hiring of Jerod Mayo To Replace Bill Belichick in New England
Mayo has an opportunity to build the Patriots back up to the mountaintop that they were once on but has a unique chance in Foxborogh to do it his way.
Want to predict the results of the 2023 NFL postseason with our FREE NFL Playoff Predictor? How about looking into in-depth breakdowns of team depth charts or the NFL playoff schedule? Pro Football Network has you covered with all that and more!
