INDIANAPOLIS — In their previous comments, Jerod Mayo and Eliot Wolf seemed to make it a point to differentiate themselves from the former regime with talk of culture, collaboration, honesty and treating people the right way, to the point that it probably felt like, to more than a few people, that they were taking shots at how the Patriots did things under Bill Belichick.
In talking with New England reporters briefly at the combine on Wednesday morning, Mayo made sure to soften the impact of those words.
"It's gonna be different," Mayo said. "But at the same time, I would say, Bill did a great job for a long period of time. I don't want you guys to take this as, because we're changing, as shots toward the previous regime. In saying that, we will do it differently, and it'll feel different. But at the end of the day, we would like to replicate the success that the prior regime has had. I learned a lot from Bill and also his staff. But now we'll see what this chapter looks like."
Other than that, Mayo pretty much backed everything Wolf said on Tuesday — illustrating how the coach and de-facto personnel boss are on the same page as they navigate the post-Belichick world.
Mayo's conversation with reporters:
How do you get to know draft prospects in relatively brief meetings?
Sometimes, you know, guys walk in and they just have a sense about them. I don't know how to explain it. But swag, I guess. The young kids still say swag. But they are short interviews. But at the same time, you can gain information just as far as the confidence level, you'll watch a little bit of film as far as your knowledge of the game. There are a lot of things.
Something you're looking for in particular?
Good players, looking for good players ... Like we're looking for someone who's very knowledgeable of not only the game, but also self-aware of their strengths and weaknesses. I think that's an important part.
QB traits are the most important to you?
The thing about quarterbacks for me? Look, everyone wants to big arm, mobility and things like that. But I do think it's important just to get a good sense of what type of competitor they are, their toughness and things like that. Those are things you need to know.
How do you measure those things?
It's hard. You know, one thing I would say is the film. So you get on the film, and you kind of talk to things, you want to see how they respond to adversity on the field. And honestly, you want to talk about some of the adversity they had off the field as well.
You talked about mobility, how much is that factored into the position?
You know, when you talk about mobility, I think you have to put it in two buckets. There's one where it's pocket awareness, where guys can slide around in the pocket and still run a 5.2 40. And I think there's another type of mobility where, you know, you have the quicker guys that can really get outside the pocket. So I mean, it's more than one way to skin a cat.
We talked yesterday with Eliot, chain of command, in terms of who's making the call it number three, what are those conversations been like with you?
They've been great, you know, they've been great. We're on the same page as far as everything is concerned. And I would say, as we get closer to the draft, we'll definitely be one at that point. But at the end of the day, Eliot is gonna make the final decision
Your combined experience.
It was hectic. You know, you go see medical, you go see all these teams, and it's just like a whirlwind. It's tough. But at the same time, the guys are up for it. I would say you gain more information from this side, and also from the prospect side during the 30 visits. So those are very important.
Not too long ago, it's gonna get easier to relate to these guys.
Oh, absolutely. And I try to I try to let those guys know, look, just relax, breathe, like you'll be okay. It's just the process, but it'll be over soon.
Weaponize the offense. What does that look like to you?
Yeah, it just looks like, you know, putting people on the offensive side of the ball that the defensive side has to prepare for, whether that's double-teaming or anything like that. But that's what he means by that.
More explosive, faster defenses. That's something you felt last year going through, we could be a little bit more fast?
Every year, you're always looking for bigger, faster, stronger player. So I mean, that's a pretty general comment.
Play younger players... that I'm assuming that's something that you guys have talked about?
Yeah, absolutely. You want to play younger players, because once I mean, first of all, they're cheaper. And then second of all, I would say you want to have a good mix, you can't have all you know, 22-, 23-year-olds out there, you need that 30-year-old that can kind of settle everyone down that has that experience.
Plenty cap space coming up in free agency in a couple of weeks, what is gonna be the priority for you guys in free agency.
It's hard to build a sustainable team through free agency. But you do want those pieces that you can kind of plug in. One thing I would say about free agents, you got to make sure that a good culture fit or culture add as well. So that's definitely important for us.
Slow burn rebuild?
Honestly, once again, if you want to sustain success ... I don't want to call it a slow burn because we will be competitive. We will put a good team out there. When will we win a championship? I don't know. And I don't want to make those promises. But at the same time, I feel confident about our plan to really turn the ship around. Look, honestly, the way I think about this stuff is you know, it's been done a certain way at a high, high level for what 20-plus years? But I would also say there's more than one way to skin a cat. It worked for Coach. We'll see what worked for Eliot and myself
JC Jackson?
You know, those discussions are still going on. I love JC, coached him, saw him develop into a man. We'll see how that goes going forward. But heckua football player, two years removed from injury. He's probably going to move a lot better this year. So we'll see.
Onwenu and Dugger...
I love those guys. I love Big Mike, I think he has the versatility to play guard or tackle. One of those guys that when he's going he's dominant. And with Dugger, I would say, last year going into the season, there were some questions about, you know, can he communicate and all that. He squashed all of that this year, he did a fantastic job in his new role, you know, without having Devin there. So you definitely want those pieces to stay. And going back to what I talked about earlier, you develop throught the draft. So if those guys stay, obviously, they've been raised here, and they can help push the culture forward.
Have you connected with them?
They've been in, in the facility, that's it. Hasn't really been about football, it's really just been about, you know, how you're doing. And those guys are excited to, you know, go through the process, which I think it is important for those guys to go through the process. But hopefully at the end of the day, they come back to New England.
If it comes down to it, how'd you feel about using the franchise tag on one of those guys?
I mean, that's always an option. That's always an option. But at the same time with guys like that, you want those guys to be happy, want to be here for the long term. So that's the plan.
Differentiating from Belichick?
It's gonna be different. But at the same time, I would say, Bill did a great job for a long period of time. I don't want you guys to take this as because we're changing, as shots toward the previous regime. In saying that we will do it differently, and it'll feel different. But at the end of the day, we would like to replicate the success that the prior regime has had. I learned a lot from Bill and also his staff. But now we'll see what this chapter looks like.
Have you connected with Bill?
That's more of a personal question. Like once again, I would say that I've learned a lot from Bill on the field and also in the classroom in how to be a professional so I'll keep it ... you ask him that.