FOXBOROUGH - This job was too big for this head coach.
While Jerod Mayo could reach the players (most, but not all) on a personal level and appeal to them with a lighter approach than his former boss, the locker room murmurings picked up steam as the season wore on. Questions about game plans, in-game adjustments (or lack thereof), player utilization, inconsistent messaging, and a tolerance for spring and summer mistakes being made in the fall left several players wondering if they were in the most capable of hands.
One vet told me, "I lost faith we were headed in the right direction." When? "In the spring." Why? "Felt like he - they - were making it up as they went along. It was amazing how one day it would be this and then the next, something completely different."
Another added, "It became more about looking myself in the mirror and the guys in my room and huddle and saying 'I'm leaving it out here for you.' Because I never believed we had an edge (in coaching)."
The dysfunction went beyond the product you saw on the field and how this coach and this team have handled their business away from it (One coach described Jahlani Tavai's verbal critique of the fan base as "crazy," noting that while "he had his heart in the right place" he turned an unsuccessful team "into an unlikeable one.")
The front office had a number of issues with the coaches. First and foremost, they believed that the younger players on the roster hadn't grown and developed nearly enough. Ja'Lynn Polk was identified by many organizations as a plug-and-play guy. That's how Eliot Wolf and company felt (and Wolf was quoted recently saying so). To see him regress to the point where Polk became a liability and a non-factor raised eyebrows not just upstairs but around the league. But he wasn't the only one.
There was also the surprising regression of players identified as core pieces and signed to contracts this past offseason that expressed that belief. Instead, the likes of Rhamondre Stevenson, Kyle Dugger (even pre-injury), and Tavai scuffled mightily, and it took until the last six weeks for Mike Onwenu to start playing like he's capable of. Who's to blame? The players themselves, obviously, but it is clear, based on ownership's reaction, that the biggest finger is being pointed at the head coach and his staff. The front office didn't stand in their way.
They also saw a team that rarely had a plan that put the opposition in a bind or the ability to pivot quickly when they were either ineffective or being exploited.
Meanwhile, there was a feeling amongst some of the coaches that I talked to that the front office didn't get them the right players. "What's the line? Chicken salad out of chicken shit? Yeah. That was us."
Another was incredulous as he surveyed the roster.
"Offensive line. Wide receiver. Defensive line. Bottom of the league here, there, and everywhere. Can't rush the passer. Can't stop the run. Getting blown out of gaps. Do you think they were coached to do that? We were asking players to do the most basic things, but in many cases, it was asking them to play beyond their capabilities. Hard to be consistently competitive."
(Paul Johnson for BSJ)
And that's where some players felt Mayo was put in a difficult spot, one that would be hard for him to actually show what they were capable of.
"He was a great leader, great coach, a great friend," said Deatrich Wise today. "Pretty much consistent every single day, brought great energy, motivated everybody, inspired everybody in the building to do better. I felt like every time he came into the room, he brought a light and good energy. I thought he held us together throughout the whole season."
"Jerod was a great person, great leader, a guy you can talk to on and off the field," added Davon Godchaaux. "So, of course, you're gonna feel for a guy like this. I mean, it's tough when something like this happens. But I'm not in control. Nobody in this locker room's in control. It's tough."
Mayo was expected to change the culture and revive what had progressively eroded during Bill Belichick's final years in charge. He entered the job believing he'd have multiple years to implement his vision. But trying to bridge the old with the new proved even more challenging than he imagined.
"The fact of the matter is, there's a lot of guys on this football team that haven't had a lot of success," observed David Andrews of this transition and the recent slide. "I tried to stress that, like, the ultimate goal in this game is that trophy. And that's the reason why I still play the game, is to try to get back to that, that chance, because there's nothing like it."
Another pointed out that while there was "a lot of immaturity" in the room, he also felt some of that from the coaching staff. "Trying to toe the line between being a friend and a boss is hard. Where's the line?"
When I asked Mayo about a 'winning culture' at the end of November, he opened some eyes with his response, “I never thought that we would be able to re-establish a culture in Year 1. It’s a process. It’s hard to change a culture. We’re trying to put those pieces together. I think it would be a disservice to get to the end of the year and not know exactly what have from a player or coaching perspective. That has to be our focus.”
For a man hired partly because of his leadership, that was telling. In making this move, the Krafts felt like they knew exactly who Mayo was - at least at this point of his career - and decided a clean break - while painful for RKK in particular, and some of the players as well - was the only way to get the franchise moving back in a positive direction.
