From the very beginning of Jerod Mayo's tenure as the Patriots head coach, his tenure has been dominated by controversy. Besides the initial disbelief of many that owner Robert Kraft decided to fire longtime head coach Bill Belichick, his decision to skip the interview process and immediately hire Mayo is still criticized and might come back to haunt Kraft as Mayo continues to struggle in his new role.
Since then, the Patriots have looked like an undisciplined team led by inexperienced coaches and an unserious attitude. It has led to a lot of scrutiny for the organization and rumors suggesting the coaching staff are in the hot seat, with most of the blame falling on Kraft and Mayo's shoulders.
However, in some ways, the fault on the head coach isn't entirely fair without context. It's not something many fans want to hear, but you can't tell the entire story of Mayo's start without mentioning how the team got here.
That's something that former Patriots quarterback Brian Hoyer and current starting center David Andrews discussed on the latest episode of their Quick Snap podcast this week, which was a startling revelation that hadn't been heard by any players to this point.
Brian Hoyer doesn't want the media to forget Bill Belichick's responsibility for the current Patriots roster
Because they have heard all of the chatter surrounding the Patriots' season and the criticism that Mayo has received on a daily basis, Hoyer shared his thoughts on how the team got to be in its current position, which is another year of being at the bottom of the division with a losing record.
While that's far from ideal, which Hoyer mentions is hard for New Englanders to deal with given the Patriots rich history, he believes that it's unfair to have such high expectations placed on Mayo given the team he was given, something the quarterback believes Bill Belichick should be held more responsible for.
Brian Hoyer’s thoughts on the #Patriots:
— Carlos Talks Pats (@LosTalksPats) December 18, 2024
“The reason Jerod’s the head coach right now is because things didn’t work out at the end of Bill [coaching] here. That’s just the reality… That’s where this organization is at, because where [Bill] led it to be.” 🤐
(🎥 @quicksnappod) pic.twitter.com/I9jPEOTApq
There's certainly a bit of an argument to be made regarding the state of the roster since the new regime had a healthy amount of cap space to spend and desirable draft positioning to make the improvements needed. But at the same time, the idea that a roster can be completely turned around in one offseason is delusional and has never been done in the NFL.
Therefore, the premise of Mayo having the ability to make the team that Belichick led to a 4-13 record in 2023 into a playoff contender just one year later is unfair, which Hoyer seems to elude to with his comments.
Any fired head coach who had been with his former team for years is responsible for the state of the roster when his successor comes in. It's even more damning for someone in Belichick's position who also assumed the duties of a general manager, making it a double-whammy of responsibility for the roster.
That makes it unsurprising that the Patriots have performed as poorly as they have this year and could lose out the rest of the season, resulting in a 3-14 record heading into the 2025 offseason. The good thing is that the new regime, assuming they (mostly) remain in place, will have the most cap space in the league to spend next year to really turn the team around.
If they still don't look like a good team next year, this discussion can be revisited, with more blame placed on Mayo and Co.