From The Athletic - "Inside Mayo's Disastrous Season"

[XLIX]

I'd rather move on than pile on.

That said (see what I did here?) there is nothing surprising about any of this stuff and anything else that will come out. It is mindblowing but also unsurprising at the same time. All of it was evident from the very beginning.

+1 +1 +1 +1

I don't need a NY Times expose to tell me Mayo wasn't ready. I've been saying it for 12 months now.

 

[mgcolby]

I am with you. I'd just as soon forget the 2024 season and move on to the excitement and optimism that will no doubt come with a new HC. Bring on the combine, pro days, senior bowl and draft.

Yes, but until we have a new HC and the all star games are played. I am personally enjoying all the confirmation of my personal, non-insider opinion based on the things that I saw and was told I didn't know what I was talking about. Yep, just patted myself on the back.

But seriously I posted this in one of the mayo threads, but in game adjustments is what primarily cemented it for me (and I was not a fan of the hire in the first place). Allowing points on the opening defensive drive of the second half in nearly every game, I think it ended up being only 3 games where they didn't allow points, was a Times Square sized video board add, that screamed he and his coaching staff had no ****ing clue. Beyond everything else that told us the same thing.

 

[Kasmir]

is it a hit piece, or simply providing evidence that runs contrary to the talking heads coming out with "he was set up to fail" or "he was fired because he's black"?

Here's some relevant hate speech that risks blowing up some heads around here:

 

[Patsgofor4]

RemovePaywall | Free online paywall remover

Remove Paywall, free online paywall remover. Get access to articles without having to pay or login. Works on Bloomberg and hundreds more.

www.removepaywall.com

 

[yukon cornelius]

I haven't heard the second part, but the first part is partially true. He was in over his head from day one, given a job a couple years too soon because of the accelerated time line with Bill's unexpected departure. He needed seasoning, support and mentoring.

well yeah, it was a bad hire.......but he wasn't fired because he couldn't win with a bad roster, it was more because he took a bad roster and made it worse

 

[borg]

Mayo's an empty suit with a knack for office politics who sidled up to Kraft, nicknamed his junk, and positioned himself as the anti-Belichick.

Kraft took the bait, hook, line, and sinker.

 

[mgcolby]

well yeah, it was a bad hire.......but he wasn't fired because he couldn't win with a bad roster, it was more because he took a bad roster and made it worse

My two cents and final opinion is he was fired because he simply did not have a clue about being a HC and I honestly doubt his defensive coaching chops. I think all the buzz we heard last year; and to some degree prior, about how Mayo installs the game plan, essentially the mastermind of the defense and Steve is simply the playcaller.... was a pile of 100% pure USDA Grade A hot steaming Horse ****. Its clear now, all that was PR put out by his camp. I am sure that really solidified his relationship with Bill.

Imagine being Bill and you recruit one of your favorite players, knowing he was a smart, tough nosed guy, only to have him run behind your back ****ing you at every turn. People in the league talk, he may never step on a sideline again unless its with a microphone in his hand.

 

[mgcolby]

Mayo's an empty suit with a knack for office politics who sidled up to Kraft, nicknamed his junk, and positioned himself as the anti-Belichick.

Kraft took the bait, hook, line, and sinker.

A much more succinct post than my own.

 

[Vindicate]

Here's some relevant hate speech that risks blowing up some heads around here:

Lmao. Matt Walsh is a clown and serves dog whistle talking points to the domesticated-ass few whose ears will pop up at acronyms like "DEI".

 

[Ross12]

RemovePaywall | Free online paywall remover

Remove Paywall, free online paywall remover. Get access to articles without having to pay or login. Works on Bloomberg and hundreds more.

www.removepaywall.com

The Athletic is actually really easy. If your device has a "reader mode" in the browser, just use that. It dumps the paywall and makes the article easy to read at the same time.

 

[Vindicate]

Mayo just seemed to apply corporate jargon to a very non-corporate field. And the bit about his rolodex being super small looks even worse when he's willing to sever ties with his defensive play caller for unexplained reasons. It's odd, I feel like Mayo almost expected this to be easy. When in reality this was about the single most difficult situation in the NFL to come into.

I hope he has been humbled, because even if he has "learned" but not been humbled, then he'll never have a strong career. Granted, I understand Belichick was hard to play for, but he seemingly had no issue with ousting him.

 

[TheRainMaker]

This came out fast. Bob needed to put this out there asap. Right on cue.

 

[condon84]

Doesn't that make this EVEN WORSE?

"It's not true that he started the plane ride where he was supposed to be and then left to where he wasn't supposed to be. He was ALWAYS where he wasn't supposed to be!"

I don't mind this tbh. Mayo is supposed to be a 'culture, leader, vibes' type of guy so this would go along with that type of role.

The main issue with him was that he appeared to lack accountability in his pressings, and that trickled down to the team. And I think his biggest downfall is that he hired **** coaches. Covington and AVP were clearly not ready. And with Mayo not being ready as well, it was like nobody knew what was going on or what the plan was.

Also for posters who don't have a subscription to NY times, you can install a Chrome extension to toggle off javascript which will turn off the subscription pop up.

 

[Grogan14]

+1 +1 +1 +1

I don't need a NY Times expose to tell me Mayo wasn't ready. I've been saying it for 12 months now.

Not sure its all about being “ready”. This athletic piece is implying his work ethic was terrible

 

[Ross12]

I don't mind this tbh. Mayo is supposed to be a 'culture, leader, vibes' type of guy so this would go along with that type of role.

The main issue with him was that he appeared to lack accountability in his pressings, and that trickled down to the team. And I think his biggest downfall is that he hired **** coaches. Covington and AVP were clearly not ready. And with Mayo not being ready as well, it was like nobody knew what was going on or what the plan was.

Also for posters who don't have a subscription to NY times, you can install a Chrome extension to toggle off javascript which will turn off the subscription pop up.

But my concern would be that this would turn his coaches on him too. "Why does Mayo dump all the film work on us while he goes and plays cards and screws around? Why should I have to do his work for him?" Especially considering he didn't really "earn" his job in the first place, he should have been busting his butt, not dumping his work on others.

 

[Lavictoire]

From the article: "But in describing how and why things went wrong for Mayo and the Patriots, team sources pointed to a few things. Mayo, they felt, tried too hard to be 180 degrees different from Belichick, then struggled to apply and uphold discipline after positioning himself as a players’ coach."

 

[borg]

But my concern would be that this would turn his coaches on him too. "Why does Mayo dump all the film work on us while he goes and plays cards and screws around? Why should I have to do his work for him?" Especially considering he didn't really "earn" his job in the first place, he should have been busting his butt, not dumping his work on others.

CEO coach gonna CEO delegate............then hit the links, or carve out some quiet isolation time to self-reflect.

(Or do a podcast with media buddy Curran)

 

[turkeyneck]

Not sure its all about being “ready”. This athletic piece is implying his work ethic was terrible

That's what his notion of CEO-ing entailed - no actual work, just strut around being seen as the boss, taking credit if things go right, passing the buck if they don't. The highlight of his game week was his sideline interviews. He probably has them on a loop to entertain friends when they come over.

 

[yukon cornelius]

Lmao. Matt Walsh is a clown and serves dog whistle talking points to the domesticated-ass few whose ears will pop up at acronyms like "DEI".

so he's also a race hustler, in this case?

no way?!

 

[Ross12]

CEO coach gonna CEO delegate............then hit the links, or carve out some quiet isolation time to self-reflect.

(Or do a podcast with media buddy Curran)

Going back and watching that bye week interview with Curran is now peak comedy after his firing.