NFL analyst slams Patriots' Jerod Mayo over coaching style

Becoming a first-time head coach in any professional sports league is always met with a lot of criticism, no matter who the person is. Unfortunately for Jerod Mayo, the successor to the legendary Bill Belichick, his job performance is under more of a microscope than that of the average new head coach.

Robert Kraft could have chosen to hire a more experienced person to replace Belichick for the 2024 season, but he went with his gut and hired the man in waiting, leading to many concerns from those outside New England.

Mayo has received a lot of adverse reporting thus far, being put in the hot seat immediately after his introductory press conference. The media has gone from questioning his fit as a head coach, even before he was promoted to the position, and concluding he was the wrong choice to now taking issue with his coaching style.

At least one analyst feels that way, anyway.

Mark Schlereth is not a fan of Jerod Mayo's coaching style so far

Although we're yet to see what type of coach the former linebacker's coach will be since the Patriots have only finished OTAs and minicamp, some have already seen enough.

Longtime offensive lineman turned NFL analyst Mark Schlereth spoke about Mayo on his "Stinkin' Truth Podcast" earlier this week, and shared his belief that Mayo being labeled as a "player's coach" who has changed the atmosphere in New England is a bad thing.

"You listen to all the reports coming out there were players like, ‘Jerod Mayo is a player’s coach, it’s a different atmosphere,’ and I’m like that’s really good until it’s not really good, until you start losing. Then everybody starts looking at it like, ‘Really? Are we sure that’s really good?"

To an extent, he is right, and becoming too much of a friend to the players as opposed to a coach can create problems for a team in the long run. We've seen it in the past, and that's not a position Mayo or the Patriots will want to be in.

However, have we really seen enough from Mayo to already decide that's the type of coach he's going to be?

There was a need for a shift in the locker room, as the vibe had been labeled as toxic over the last few years with the tension within the team and the coaching staff. It's partly what led to Kraft's decision to move on from Belichick, so if anything, Mayo is trying to create a more relaxing place for the players.

That's not a bad thing, either. There's a reason the team felt off over the last two years, and there was a significant need to make changes, or they might have been too far gone to fix. Those reporting on the team criticized it, too, so why is it frowned upon for Mayo to want to make it a better place to be?

For now, we should take actions more seriously than words, and so far, the team has demonstrated the desire to play hard for their new head coach and prove all the doubters wrong. Until that changes or they don't live up to their hype, the inferences of how Mayo is should be off-limits.

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