Jerod Mayo's offseason hire under fire after Patriots embarrassing Week 3 loss

Robert Kraft's decision to move on from Bill Belichick this offseason was met with various reactions, despite many calling for the head coach to be fired after how the team looked over the last two seasons. More questions arose from the decision to hire Jerod Mayo as his replacement, followed by a primarily inexperienced staff to lead the new era in Foxboro.

The main hire that got the most attention was Ben McAdoo, the failed New York Giants head coach who was brought on to be the Patriots' senior offensive assistant after being out of the league for an entire season.

Then came the hiring of Alex Van Pelt to be the next offensive coordinator, the fourth playcaller in as many years. The longtime quarterbacks coach had dabbled in offensive playcalling early in his coaching career with the Bills but didn't hold that role again until he joined the Browns in 2020.

It prompted negative responses to giving him that job title with a rookie quarterback coming in, despite his tenured history working with the position.

The Patriots had failed to find a competent replacement for Josh McDaniels, who went on to become the Raiders head coach in 2022. Belichick made the mistake of trying out former defensive coordinator Matt Patricia as his successor, followed by Bill O'Brien the following season, all of which was a massive failure.

So Van Pelt wasn't met with much optimism about turning the ship around, and based on how the 2024 season has begun, especially after their embarrassing effort against the Jets, the Patriots are under fire again for potentially hiring the wrong guy for the job.

Alex Van Pelt isn't proving the naysayers wrong to start the 2024 season

The Patriots offense has had its ups and downs to start the year, with the most shocking performance coming against the Bengals in Week 1. They looked like a much more well-oiled machine than what they were projected to be all offseason, with Rhamondre Stevenson demolishing through defenders to lead all running backs in yards for the first two weeks.

While there are certainly plenty of excuses to take the blame off Van Pelt's shoulders, like the liability that the offensive line has become, his questionable decisions are worthy of criticism as the season is only set to get more difficult for New England.

It is especially warranted when the offense set another franchise record for the lowest passing yards through three games to start the season, with Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye recording just 306 combined yards.

Maybe it's just growing pains and things will get better as the season progresses. It's a bit early to be calling for his job already or to suggest he should be fired at the end of the year.

However, if things don't look much better as the season progresses, considering other options shouldn't be out of the question, especially when the plan is presumably to have Maye be the starter in 2025 and beyond.

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