Patriots

“If the rest of the season goes like this, a lot of people will get fired.”

Jerod Mayo’s first season as head coach of the New England Patriots didn’t go according to plan.

While expectations weren’t all that high for a rebuilding Patriots roster, New England has seemingly taken steps backwards over the course of the 2024 season. After a disappointing 32-16 loss to the Jaguars on Sunday in London, the Patriots are 1-6 this year and have lost six straight games.

Despite the lack of established talent on New England’s depth chart, the Patriots’ sharp decline in defensive strength, the team’s issues with discipline, and Mayo’s own postgame comments have drawn much criticism.

Not only have Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and Devin McCourty questioned Mayo’s decision to call the Patriots a “soft” team after Sunday’s loss, but several players on the current roster have also expressed their frustration on social media.

Many expected Mayo and his staff to experience growing pains in their first year at the helm of Foxborough. But could New England’s continued dysfunction put Mayo on the hot seat as early as this season?

Greg Bedard of Sports Hub’s “Felger & Mazz” spoke on Tuesday Boston Sports Journal acknowledged that Mayo could find himself on thin ice if the Patriots don’t show signs of righting the ship in 2024.

“I think, how should I put this… I think there was some deliberation over the summer that there were questions around the building about whether this was the right thing for the program,” Bedard said of the Patriots’ hiring of Mayo . “There were some doubts and considerations about it. And I’ll tell you, my opinion is that Jerod Mayo, from talking to people, has no guarantee of a second season if this is a complete dumpster fire.

“I don’t think that’s likely, but considering where we are in Week 7, they’re still weeks away from a release week where they try to restart and that’s not going to do this coaching staff any good. …But I think it would be wise for Jerod to have things under control. If that means he goes into the defense meeting room and takes charge of the game, then something. If the rest of the season goes like this, a lot of people will get fired.”

Although Bedard acknowledged that the likelihood that Robert Kraft and the Patriots ownership would make such a turnaround with their coaching staff was slim, he added that sentiment could change quickly – especially if the Patriots’ problems continue to worsen .

“If this continues,” Bedard warned. “And look, it’s getting worse every week, and you have a coach who just went to the podium and called his players ‘soft,’ and now you have Belichick – the deposed ‘dictator’ – basically like that “would he call for a mutiny” with the comments and whistles he makes to his boys and it just gets worse every week?

“I don’t think it’s a certainty that Jerod Mayo will come back for a second season along with a lot of other people in this building. The Krafts will have no shame, and Sunday was embarrassing. And they still have ten games left.”

Bedard isn’t the only Patriots scribe to sound ominous about Mayo’s tenuous position in Foxborough after a 1-6 start.

NBC Sports Boston’s Tom E. Curran said Tuesday on WEEI’s “Jones & Keefe” that Mayo is “at some risk” when it comes to losing the locker room following Sunday’s postgame comments.

Although Mayo clarified his comments on Monday, Curran noted that the damage may have been done on Sunday.

“I think they all admitted, Mayo included, definitely Kraft: ‘Look, this is going to be a year with some bumps and fits and starts.’ I don’t think in their wildest dreams they played out (the) worst-case scenario, but this is playing out as a worst-case scenario,” Curran said.

“I just don’t think it would ever get that bad with a first-year head coach, a first-year coordinator and a first-year coordinator on the defensive side. So Mayo needs help.”

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Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.

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