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

[NashuaPats]

Playing cards with the players while the coaches worked. If true, what an *******.

I’m guessing War is his best and favorite card game.

 

[Jackson 2]

You have to wonder if Kraft's are involved in these Mayo hit pieces. The more insider info that comes out, the more Kraft looks the good guy.

Thus far, I've only seen Strahan stick up for Mayo not getting a fair chance.

Gee, who could ever imagine the Krafts being involved in hit pieces on a recently fired head coach? Those pricks are experts at it.

 

[slam]

This has been studied. Stupid people consistently overestimate their capabilities and intelligence. Smart people tend to underestimate. It is impossible for stupid people to know what they don't know.

So, a stupid person like Jerod Mayo cannot be convinced he is incapable of the job. If he fails, it isn't him, it's everything and everyone else (and we saw that from him in 2024). He cannot reason about his own limitations. Of course, he was set up for this when he had a very successful athletic career doing one very specific job (being an ILB). His personality and commitment made him a successful leader in that narrow scope. His post-playing career consisted of people fawning over him and reinforcing his amazingness at every turn. And then Kraft made his bad extrapolation, concluding that Jerod Mayo would make a good HC, despite near zero evidence, and Mayo did not have the intelligence to say, maybe I'm not ready for that quite yet.

And all that is why I think Jerod Mayo will never again have a coaching job in the NFL. He's just not smart enough, but believes he is with all his heart, and therefore goes toxic when things go wrong. That's the wrong kind of guy to have on your team.

Dunno. Sounds like a future Jets coach to me.

 

[Run DMC]

This is an hit piece sanctioned by Kraft. And how about our dipshit front office of Wolf, Groh, Jonathan, Glaser who put together this dogshit roster? So it’s all Mayo’s fault, huh? Literally the worst roster in the NFL. If these morons hang on to their jobs we’re going to suck for a long long time.

 

[Triumph]

Gee, who could ever imagine the Krafts being involved in hit pieces on a recently fired head coach? Those pricks are experts at it.

Where's the outrage?

Ain't you a big DEI fan.

 

[lancerman]

This has been studied. Stupid people consistently overestimate their capabilities and intelligence. Smart people tend to underestimate. It is impossible for stupid people to know what they don't know.

So, a stupid person like Jerod Mayo cannot be convinced he is incapable of the job. If he fails, it isn't him, it's everything and everyone else (and we saw that from him in 2024). He cannot reason about his own limitations. Of course, he was set up for this when he had a very successful athletic career doing one very specific job (being an ILB). His personality and commitment made him a successful leader in that narrow scope. His post-playing career consisted of people fawning over him and reinforcing his amazingness at every turn. And then Kraft made his bad extrapolation, concluding that Jerod Mayo would make a good HC, despite near zero evidence, and Mayo did not have the intelligence to say, maybe I'm not ready for that quite yet.

And all that is why I think Jerod Mayo will never again have a coaching job in the NFL. He's just not smart enough, but believes he is with all his heart, and therefore goes toxic when things go wrong. That's the wrong kind of guy to have on your team.

This is more on Kraft tbh. Nobody would pass up the job if they were in Mayo's position. It's the biggest payday of your life, you may never get the chance again. Even if you think you are over your head, it's kinda dumb to pass that payday up. It's the type of thing where you are set for life even if it completely flops and you get fired right away.

Kraft is the bigger issue and an example of the "stupid people thinking they are smart". He thinks he is a genius at identifying coaching talent, was convinced Mayo was the next Bill Belichick, without any due diligence whatsoever. Locked himself into a contract where he gave someone the job without them being ready. Then watched it fall apart.

 

[archstanton543]

Kraft is the bigger issue and an example of the "stupid people thinking they are smart". He thinks he is a genius at identifying coaching talent, was convinced Mayo was the next Bill Belichick, without any due diligence whatsoever. Locked himself into a contract where he gave someone the job without them being ready. Then watched it fall apart.

He's not a dumb guy. You don't have as many successful businesses as he does by being dumb. I think that he made an emotional rash decision. He is human after all (and old...meaning he's most susceptible to sentimentality).

 

[Force Zero Boomer]

This is more on Kraft tbh. Nobody would pass up the job if they were in Mayo's position. It's the biggest payday of your life, you may never get the chance again. Even if you think you are over your head, it's kinda dumb to pass that payday up. It's the type of thing where you are set for life even if it completely flops and you get fired right away.

Guys pass up on "better" opportunities all the time, in all vocations and for various reasons, with one such reason being "I don't think I can succeed in that role." I've passed up more money just for that reason. What you are describing is a selfish person, which also describes Jerod Mayo to a tee. If he cared about the Patriots franchise and knew he didn't have it in him, he should have passed it by. He's made plenty of money, including Optum cash. Kraft was going to bankroll him indefinitely.

I was prepared to give Jerod the benefit of the doubt, thinking he cared about the franchise and was just too dumb to realize he couldn't do the job. Now after he torpedoed the #1 pick, I know he cares about one person: Jerod Mayo.

Kraft is the bigger issue and an example of the "stupid people thinking they are smart". He thinks he is a genius at identifying coaching talent, was convinced Mayo was the next Bill Belichick, without any due diligence whatsoever. Locked himself into a contract where he gave someone the job without them being ready. Then watched it fall apart.

Well, Kraft gets some leeway because he's changed course, which I did NOT think he would do. He made a huge error with Mayo, but he's caught it, finally -- took some time because Mayo has got him thinking of him as a son. That kind of emotional stuff makes things rough to sort out. But you're right that Kraft's overestimation of his football acumen played a part.

 

[Force Zero Boomer]

He's not a dumb guy. You don't have as many successful businesses as he does by being dumb. I think that he made an emotional rash decision. He is human after all (and old...meaning he's most susceptible to sentimentality).

He trusted Mayo, too. I do think he was overconfident in his own abilities. The problem is that I suspect the decisions he made that ultimately helped carry the team to all-time great status are not all the same as the ones he thinks were the critical ones. It's the credit assignment problem: you did a bunch of stuff and made a bunch of decisions and achieved X. Which were the most important? Which were the most problematic? It's often not what you think, especially if you are an owner, because you impact the franchise broadly and deeply.

 

[Force Zero Boomer]

This is an hit piece sanctioned by Kraft. And how about our dipshit front office of Wolf, Groh, Jonathan, Glaser who put together this dogshit roster? So it’s all Mayo’s fault, huh? Literally the worst roster in the NFL. If these morons hang on to their jobs we’re going to suck for a long long time.

Who said it's all Mayo's fault? That's obviously not true. Even Bob Kraft doesn't believe that.

 

[lancerman]

Guys pass up on "better" opportunities all the time, in all vocations and for various reasons, with one such reason being "I don't think I can succeed in that role." I've passed up more money just for that reason. What you are describing is a selfish person, which also describes Jerod Mayo to a tee. If he cared about the Patriots franchise and knew he didn't have it in him, he should have passed it by. He's made plenty of money, including Optum cash. Kraft was going to bankroll him indefinitely.

I was prepared to give Jerod the benefit of the doubt, thinking he cared about the franchise and was just too dumb to realize he couldn't do the job. Now after he torpedoed the #1 pick, I know he cares about one person: Jerod Mayo.


Well, Kraft gets some leeway because he's changed course, which I did NOT think he would do. He made a huge error with Mayo, but he's caught it, finally -- took some time because Mayo has got him thinking of him as a son. That kind of emotional stuff makes things rough to sort out. But you're right that Kraft's overestimation of his football acumen played a part.

Guys pass up on better opportunities. Very few will pass up on life changing money that sets you up for life though. I'm not going to blame anyone for taking that. If we are being honest, most people are not going to be able to justify going home to their wife and kids and saying "hey I passed up money that would completely change the quality of life for this family and make sure you never want for anything again because I might be over my head and it could make a football team lose". It's business and I'm never going to judge someone for taking the money and doing what is best for themselves. Especially when the stakes are something as low as how well a football team performs. And yes I've passed up more money for fit at a role as well, but let's be real, both of us aren't talking about multi million dollar contracts.

I'm never going to **** on someone for dramatically changing their families livelihood. If it was being the CEO of a big company that both employees and customers absolutely depended on for serious utilities, then yeah that's different and there's a bit of a moral quandry. But what did Mayo really risk? A football team doing bad?

Kraft deserves less leeway because it's literally his job to make sure he's hiring the right people. It's not an employees job to pass up on an opportunity and money to bail the owner out from making a potential mistake. He's the one that is supposed to be the safeguard. He's also the one that just fired a bunch of people to put his friend in this position and now is firing more people to save his ass. He's literally changing lives over his dumb emotional decisions.

 

[signbabybrady]

Who said it's all Mayo's fault? That's obviously not true. Even Bob Kraft doesn't believe that.

I'd say Mayo and Mac deserve equal the blame.

 

[Force Zero Boomer]

I'd say Mayo and Mac deserve equal the blame.

I don't know if it's equal or not. Hard to tease out. For example, at the time of Kraft's decision to install Mayo, he probably had the reasonable expectation that Mayo would work hard to prepare for the role, especially since he had little experience. He got caught off guard when it became clear Mayo had done nothing. Kraft should have had better contract language to guard against such behavior, but then, he trusted Mayo. Still, it was a monumentally poor decision and I'm sure he had feedback from people in the business that he was making a terrible mistake. He chose to ignore that, going with his gut.

 

[Force Zero Boomer]

Guys pass up on better opportunities. Very few will pass up on life changing money that sets you up for life though.

Mayo already had that kind of money.

I'm not going to blame anyone for taking that. If we are being honest, most people are not going to be able to justify going home to their wife and kids and saying "hey I passed up money that would completely change the quality of life for this family and make sure you never want for anything again because I might be over my head and it could make a football team lose". It's business and I'm never going to judge someone for taking the money and doing what is best for themselves. Especially when the stakes are something as low as how well a football team performs. And yes I've passed up more money for fit at a role as well, but let's be real, both of us aren't talking about multi million dollar contracts.

You have a different moral calculus than I. If I knowingly take a job I am not suited for it impacts not only me, but everyone on my team. I'm putting other people's families at risk, too, because the performance of my team (or department or division, whatever my scope is) degrades. But an increase of just $50,000 to $175,000 can make a massive difference in quality of life and in saving for the future. I personally know this. In fact, the impact is far greater than someone who gets another $5 million with $50 million in the bank. It's much easier to walk away from that $5 million than the $50,000. The $5 million makes almost no real difference in QoL or SoL for the superrich (and $50 million net worth is superrich in my book). But that $50k is a massive leap.

And we haven't even gotten into how taking a job you aren't prepared for is just going to torpedo you in the end. You won't escape judgement. So, it's nice that the immoral, anti-social choice is punished in the end. Jerod Mayo has torpedoed his future in the NFL. I doubt he gets another job.

I'm never going to **** on someone for dramatically changing their families livelihood. If it was being the CEO of a big company that both employees and customers absolutely depended on for serious utilities, then yeah that's different and there's a bit of a moral quandry. But what did Mayo really risk? A football team doing bad?

See above. Mayo risked the franchise and the people that work for it. And more. You cannot pretend that the impact of his choice was isolated to him.

Kraft deserves less leeway because it's literally his job to make sure he's hiring the right people. It's not an employees job to pass up on an opportunity and money to bail the owner out from making a potential mistake. He's the one that is supposed to be the safeguard. He's also the one that just fired a bunch of people to put his friend in this position and now is firing more people to save his ass. He's literally changing lives over his dumb emotional decisions.

Jerod Mayo failed to prepare for the job and failed to work hard when he got the job. If he had applied himself, he may have made Kraft come up smelling like a rose. And sorry, I reject your it's-okay-to-be-anti-social-if-it-helps-your-family style morality. You might find a job in the health care industry, though, perhaps in claim processing. I think you'd fit right in.

 

[Run DMC]

Krafts “legendary business acumen” seems preposterous at this point. He’s made non stop bad decisions for the past 5 years “trusting his gut”, etc. I’d love to see his financials for his businesses and find out wtf is really going on behind the scenes and maybe discover the actual reason they have financially and operationally neglected this team so badly. Why does John Henry get crucified for being a cheapskate but Kraft gets a pass for not only his next level cheapness(bologna sandwiches anyone?) but also piss poor judgement and gross mismanagement?! Fans are starting to realize who’s really responsible for this mess.

 

[lancerman]

Mayo already had that kind of money.


You have a different moral calculus than I. If I knowingly take a job I am not suited for it impacts not only me, but everyone on my team. I'm putting other people's families at risk, too, because the performance of my team (or department or division, whatever my scope is) degrades. But an increase of just $50,000 to $175,000 can make a massive difference in quality of life and in saving for the future. I personally know this. In fact, the impact is far greater than someone who gets another $5 million with $50 million in the bank. It's much easier to walk away from that $5 million than the $50,000. The $5 million makes almost no real difference in QoL or SoL for the superrich (and $50 million net work is superrich in my book). But that $50k is a massive leap.

And we haven't even gotten into how taking a job you aren't prepared for is just going to torpedo you in the end. You won't escape judgement. So, it's nice that the immoral, anti-social choice is punished in the end. Jerod Mayo has torpedoed his future in the NFL. I doubt he gets another job.


See above. Mayo risked the franchise and the people that work for it. And more. You cannot pretend that the impact of his choice was isolated to him.


Jerod Mayo failed to prepare for the job and failed to work hard when he got the job. If he had applied himself, he may have made Kraft come up smelling like a rose. And sorry, I reject your it's-okay-to-be-anti-social-if-it-helps-your-family style morality. You might find a job in the health care industry, though, perhaps in claim processing. I think you'd fit right in.

Mayo was not a multi millionaire before taking a HC job.

Mayo also didn't put anyone at risk. Every single person he brought on got a job they didn't have because of him and wouldn't have gotten that job if another HC job. If nothing else he brough a bunch of other people with him for a payday.

Don't compare a $50k to $175k bump to making several million a year. It's not in the same world. That's a difference in paying your bills and making a modest upgrade in your living situation to "your kids and grandchildren don't have to worry about finances for a long time and you can give them the best of everything".

You're basically arguing a moral stance that a guy shouldn't have done what is best for his family and changed their lives and also helped his colleagues and friends get jobs they wouldn't have gotten because it impacts your enjoyment of a football team which is about the lowest stakes in the world. Honestly if someone ever tells you that you shouldn't look out for your family and friends who you are bringing because it might ruin their weekly football experience, kindly tell them to take a hike. You simply do not have the same level of stakes.

Also if Mayo was this bad at the job, he wasn't getting a HC job again. So he in the end made the correct choice for him by taking the swing now.

But this isn't a moral thing.

This isn't a moral thing. It's football thing and a business thing.

 

[Hammer of Thor]

Mayo was not a multi millionaire before taking a HC job.

Just on this point, overthecap.com says Mayo had $41.275m in career earnings as an NFL player. Doesn’t include agent’s cut, of course, but he definitely was a multimillionaire prior to being HC.
https://overthecap.com/player/jerod-mayo/1220#google_vignette

 

[lancerman]

Just on this point, overthecap.com says Mayo had $41.275m in career earnings as an NFL player. Doesn’t include agent’s cut, of course, but he definitely was a multimillionaire prior to being HC.
Jerod Mayo Contract Details, Salary Cap Charges, Bonus Money, and Contract History | Over The Cap

Why the **** did I forget this dude was a player for the team lol. Never mind I take back everything I said.

@ForceZeroBoom I retract my statement. Leaving the post up for my shame.

 

[signbabybrady]

Krafts “legendary business acumen” seems preposterous at this point. He’s made non stop bad decisions for the past 5 years “trusting his gut”, etc. I’d love to see his financials for his businesses and find out wtf is really going on behind the scenes and maybe discover the actual reason they have financially and operationally neglected this team so badly. Why does John Henry get crucified for being a cheapskate but Kraft gets a pass for not only his next level cheapness(bologna sandwiches anyone?) but also piss poor judgement and gross mismanagement?! Fans are starting to realize who’s really responsible for this mess.

I actually think as far as cheap goes the Kraft's are worse. Krafts sport never stops growing and has a cap which limits spending.

Henry has tightened up the spending massively on the Sox to the point it's hurting the product. But at the same time his sport is dieing and fans are walking away in droves.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I’m guessing War is his best and favorite card game.

Crazy 8s is a quality game to play with kids.