GLENDALE, Ariz. – It seemed as if Joe Judge I was sure
On December 26, 2021, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the New York Giants were “planning to bring back” Judge for the 2022 NFL season, citing league sources. At the time, Judge’s team was 4-10 but had a laundry list of excuses, including injuries at the quarterback position.
Sixteen days later, Judge was fired.
This story is relevant because of how Judge lost his job. After the Giants’ Week 15 loss to Dallas, it looked like New York’s head coach was confident. The final two weeks of the season, however, saw Judge and the Giants become a laughing stock.
After a 29-3 loss to the Chicago Bears, the coach imploded at the podium. The judge continued 11-minute rant at the post-match press conferencespeaking 2,614 words. The following week, in his final game, he saw Judge’s offense make two odd quarterback layups over the middle on second-and-11 and third-and-9. Both of those snaps happened with the Giants on their own territory
The Giants were mocked endlessly for those two plays. two days later, The judge was fired. Again, two weeks later it was reported that the Giants would bring him back. That’s how quickly a bad team’s head coach’s life can change.
This story is relevant Jerod Mayo.
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On Saturday, the The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported that Patriots owner Robert Kraft “privately assured” those around him that he is “committed to giving his first-year head coach the time and resources he needs to grow into the role.”
A day later, cameras panned Kraft, along with his son and team president Jonathan Kraft, looking down at State Farm Stadium. Jonathan Kraft had a pen and pad and appeared to be critiquing the offensive play. After another embarrassing loss, Mayo made a comment at the podium that sounded like he was firing offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt.
It was a quote that went viral, bringing more distractions. It was a date Mayo was forced to return on Monday morning.
Hiccups were expected in this first season for Mayo, but if there’s one thing he can learn from Judge’s situation, it’s that self-reported security is lip service and a coach can lose his job behind the podium when things are also going badly on the field.
The 2024 Patriots were not expected to contend or come close to making the playoffs. This roster lacks talent and those at Gillette Stadium believe it will take at least three seasons to correct all the issues. This is a long-term rebuild with a new and inexperienced head coach. Even Mayo has admitted he’s learning on the job, making mistakes and hoping to improve in 2025.
A common mistake this season, however, has been the need for the head coach to retract controversial comments.
That first happened this offseason when Mayo told WEEI the Patriots were “prepared to burn money.” That didn’t happen in free agency. Mayo later told MassLive“I misspoke a bit when I said ‘burn some cash… You don’t have to spend it all in one year. This will be a process.’
Throughout its first season, there have been more examples.
After a defeat in London, Mayo attacked his players, saying: “We are a soft football team at all levels.”
The following day, the Patriots coach clarified the comments.
“To correct what I said, it’s not like we have a softball football team,” he told WEEI. “We’re just playing soft for the last few weeks.”
After the Patriots’ loss in Indianapolis, Mayo was asked if he planned to use a timeout during the Colts’ game-winning drive.
“Absolutely, there was a thought,” Mayo said. “We’ve also won a Super Bowl here doing it the other way.”
The next day on WEEI, Mayo was asked about that statement.
“I shouldn’t have done that,” he said. “You’re right, and look, I probably shouldn’t have; when I said that, I got frustrated first of all, which I should have taken a deep breath in. I shouldn’t have said that.”
On Sunday, after the Patriots’ loss to Arizona, Mayo was asked why the offense wasn’t making Drake Maye go hard on a quarterback on failed third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 attempts.
The reporter noted, “It’s a short distance situation and he can run.”
“You said it. I didn’t,” Mayo replied.
This comment sparked controversy, as many took it as a shot at Van Pelt’s call. On Monday, Mayo had to walk back his comments.
“I know there’s a lot of talk about last night’s question. ‘You said that.’ I didn’t mean anything by that,” Mayo said. “It was more of a defensive response, and ultimately I tried to clarify that with the follow-up question because ultimately, all of these decisions are mine. I just wanted to get that out there.”
Mayo knows he needs to be better as a coach, but he also needs to be better behind the podium, or it could cost him his job.
It would be surprising if Kraft fired his new head coach, whom he handpicked to succeed Bill Belichick, after one season. What Mayo can’t do is make that ownership decision easier. It’s one thing to have a bad team. This was expected. Another is to cause multiple distractions behind the podium. Once things get embarrassing for the property, the sand in the hourglass starts to run out.
This season hasn’t reached the level of embarrassment seen with Judge’s merger with the Giants, but it’s getting close. Mayo have to tread lightly these last three weeks.