Entering their bye week with a 3-10 record and a third straight losing season locked up, the New England Patriots have plenty of work ahead of them to get back to relevance. Who will be the one leading them remains to be seen, but all signs still point toward Jerod Mayo and Eliot Wolf being allowed a second year to turn their vision for the team into reality.
Whether they will eventually be able to do that is anybody’s guess at this point in time. Mayo himself, however, is confident looking ahead at 2025.
As he pointed out in a recent interview with NBC Sports, the Patriots’ rookie head coach expects to see a jump in performance in himself and his team in Year 2.
“I still have a lot to learn as the head coach of this football team. And I understand that. It’s a very different role,” Mayo said.
“In saying that — and I tell the players the same thing — the biggest jump that you’ll ever have in your career is from Year 1 to Year 2 as far as becoming a better player, a better professional. I’m sure 100 percent that I will be a better coach in Year 2 than I am in Year 1.”
The notion of the second-year jump has been a popular one in New England, and something Mayo’s predecessor and mentor Bill Belichick spoke about repeatedly through the years. From that perspective, his optimism is warranted; his added experience alone should help him lead the coaching more effectively.
Whether or not that will translate to wins is a different story, though, and one that will ultimately decide Mayo’s staying power. Based on his first year at the job, there is plenty of room for improvement — something the 38-year-old himself anticipated.
“When I first accepted this position, I knew we’d take our bumps and lumps along the way. That’s what we’re in,” he said. “Oftentimes it’s hard for people to see the vision or direction you’re trying to take an organization through the clouds. We’re going through clouds right now but as long as our focus is on setting a foundation and getting better every week I feel pretty good about it.”
The next step in that process is leading the Patriots through their bye week and into the home stretch of the season. Mayo and his team will first visit Arizona and Buffalo, and then host the Los Angeles Chargers and the Bills at Gillette Stadium to close out the year.
Finishing the season with four defeats to bring the current losing streak to seven would not be a surprise for New England. Despite the unfavorable outlook, Mayo mentioned that he would remain in a trying-to-win mindset.
Accordingly, he is using the bye week not only to decompress but rather also to better himself and by extension his football team.
“Now that we’re in the bye week, there’s definitely a chance and opportunity to reflect on the entire season up until this point,” he said, “and what we need to do moving forward.”
