Nearly every coach within the Patriots organization is in the hot seat heading into their Week 18 matchup with the Bills, as the offseason is just around the corner and Robert Kraft will need to make some decisions about the future of the franchise.
Jerod Mayo has been under the microscope all season long, and the premise of his potential firing has become a topic dominating the conversation around the team for the past several weeks. It has been quite a distraction amid another disappointing season, and fans' frustration has only strengthened as the losses pile up.
With so much controversy surrounding their final game of the 2024 season, fans were hoping to hear something from a coach or player that didn't result in more unfavorable headlines, especially after the questionable comments made by linebacker Jahlani Tavai on Friday.
Fortunately, special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer saved the day by saying exactly what fans wanted to hear, not just because they liked what he said. It was the first time that the fans felt seen by those in Gillette Stadium.
Here’s Patriots special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer on hearing booing and chanting from fans in Week 17:
— TommyFreezePops (@yaboiTCfresh) January 3, 2025
“If you don’t wanna get shot at, don’t join the army…”
“They’re expensive tickets. And to bring your whole family to the game - that’s $1,000, probably, you’re… pic.twitter.com/Jqi1cVLXgJ
After hearing Tavai tell fans to "know their place" in response to the booing during last week's game against the Chargers, Springer's reaction provided a sigh of relief for Patriots fans who have long wanted their frustrations to be heard and understood.
It prompted many to jokingly state Springer should become the next head coach, if not, at the very least, the lone survivor of a mass firing spree this offseason.
Jeremy Springer won over Patriots Nation with his understanding of how they've felt this season
Although special teams is often overlooked by any NFL team, they have long been favorites among Patriots fans due to how important Bill Belichick stressed their success was to the game of football. It didn't hurt that the best special teams player in NFL history played for the Patriots for 16 years, either.
Now that he's a coach on the team (Matthew Slater) and a mentor to the lone Pro Bowler for this season (Brenden Schooler), there's even more hope for the Patriots' special teams to continue their long-standing success. So far, Springer has hit it out of the park as the new coordinator.
There was some skepticism about his inexperience in the NFL, but he has proven beyond doubt that he is the right guy for the job. He is one of the few on the staff who seems to get it, and that was hammered home further with his comments about and to the fans on Friday.
With so much uncertainty surrounding his coworkers, this kind of response from Springer couldn't have happened at a better time. Whether it saves his job or not is yet to be seen, but he has the support of Patriots fans beyond his understanding of their feelings and that should be important when Kraft makes decisions about the status of the coaching staff moving forward.