TRANSCRIPT: Jerod Mayo’s Interview on WEEI 8/19
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Here’s the full transcript of New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo during his appearance on The Greg Hill Show on WEEI on Monday, August 19, 2024.:
We are, I’m sure, like you, very excited about getting this season underway. You got a couple of preseason games under the belt here. First time as a head coach. Just wanted to ask you about the in-game experience and how different it was or has been so far this season from where you were last season:
“The in-game experience has been good. When you don’t have to worry about making substitutions, and it can just see the game and see what’s happening on the field. It’s a very cool experience. Obviously, I’m not going to be… It’s my second preseason game. I’m going into the third preseason. I’m going to approach this like a real game because we start on the road, and this is our only opportunity to really do a road preseason game.”
Did you give any thought at all to going with the cut off hoodie or no?
“The short-sleeved hoodie, they sell them. They just sell them in [the Patriots ProShop]. I like short-sleeved hoodies. I love hoodies because I always have them.”
Jerod, back in the spring, you said that Drake Maye had a lot to work on, and it seems like from the outside, looking in, he has made a lot of progress. In your seat, what’s been the best part about Drake Maye coming into this preseason? And has he made a lot of progress from the spring?
“He’s definitely made progress. And I would say overall, just his command of the huddle and his progressions have been pretty good. He still has a lot to work on. Let’s not forget, he is a rookie quarterback, and there are things that will show up that he hasn’t seen before. And you have to remember in the preseason games, usually the defenses and the offenses, it’s really basic. And so he’ll still continue to develop and see new things, but I like where he is.”
What went into your decision [at QB]? Because I think a lot of us fans here, the expectations were when you see a lot of teams draft the quarterback that high, coming off a losing season, that he would be QB1, he would be the number one guy. What went into your decision on to going in, it seems like, a different direction with Jacoby Brissett being QB1?
“I wouldn’t say a different direction. I would say that Jacobi has played in this league for a long time, and he has really earned the right, and I would say earned the respect of his teammates and also the coaches to go out there and move the ball. Now, in saying that we came into the season, even right after we drafted Drake at three, with a plan, a development plan. And so sometimes I feel like, not that people are talking out of both sides of their mouths, but we talk about how he’s developed here during training camp, but then also why isn’t he playing? And so like I said, we’re going to stick to the plan. It may not be a popular plan, but we’re doing what we think is right for the organization, not only in the near term, but also long term.”
Yeah. And I think, listen, we do. That’s what we do. We get paid to talk out of both sides of our mouth. So I understand that. And I think just when you talk about a development plan, and I know you’re not going to tell us exactly what it is, but I’m kind of …
“I sent you an email. I sent you the plan in an email. It might have got lost in spam.”
Well, I got one email from you which I think just said, ‘Burn some cash’:
“Don’t bring that back up, please. Don’t bring that back up.”
Was that plan to bring him along slowly? And is that based on concerns that you might have about the offensive line or experience that you’ve had when it comes to watching other rookie quarterbacks drafted where he is and their entry into the league?
“I think that’s a great question and a valid point. We’re definitely trying to figure out not only the best five offensive linemen as individuals, but what best combination will give this team a great chance to win? And so that definitely played a part of it. I would also say I’m a huge believer that it all starts up front, whether we’re talking about defensive line or we’re talking about offensive line, it will move from there. Now, in saying that I’m not sure when we say the starting offensive line, I’m not sure how you guys see it. I know that we have a plan there as well for the offensive line. And I think you see David Andrews out there, and he is the starter. He started along a long time in this league. But at the same time, if he was to come out of the game and everyone was still in the game, is that the starting offensive line? And so I don’t want to get confused with managing a veteran player in Dave Andrews and then start talking about starters on the offensive line.”
Jerod, one of the things that you talked about, and you’ve been around the game long enough to know that you have specific plans or game plans, and then things happen, and then all of a sudden you have to scrap that and change it. One of the things that you’ve been talking about is Drake Maye’s development and him now, it looks like there’s a competition there. Is there a chance, I know you talked about developmental plan, but is there a chance that within these next couple of weeks before your season opener, that maybe he performs at a level where your plan might change a little bit, where he could potentially see more action or even be the starter come week one?
“100%. We’re still in training camp. We still have our preseason game against Washington. And once again, we don’t have a starting quarterback right now. When it’s time, we’ll announce that. But he could absolutely be QB1. So could Jacoby. So we just got to see how it plays out.”
What is the number one thing you need to see out of Drake to make him QB1?
“I would say with all positions, it’s just consistency. You don’t want to ride the up and down waves. And that’s what he’s been proving here as of late. And we’ll see if this trajectory continues to go that way.”
Jerod, just as a general rule, I’m curious as to… There’s the conversation, and it’s not specific to Drake Maye, it’s rookie quarterbacks, the NFL, every year, there seems to be four or five first-round quarterbacks taken where this debate goes on. What could happen to a rookie quarterback behind a line or a team that’s not ready that could damage them long term? And is that your concern? Is it just you want everything to be right before you begin a new career as opposed starting and learning from the beginning?
“Yeah, that’s a great question. I would say, whether you’re in your first year or your 10th year at the quarterback position, if you feel that you’re not comfortable in the pocket, it’s a huge detriment not only to the quarterback position, but to the team. And so when you talk about building confidence in your teammates, that’s what training camp is all about. That’s what the preseason game is all about. And hopefully, these quarterbacks are starting to build that trust. I understand the offensive line had a hard day against Philly, not to look back in the past, but overall, I would say the offensive line in the pockets, if you watch the games and if you watch practice, have done a good job. And those guys going forward, they’ll continue to get better. And once again, the combination of guys up front, they have to be able to play with other people. People get injured, people get benched, people get new starters, all that stuff, they have to learn how to play together. And so when you see players playing at different positions up front, we’re just trying to gather information to see what the best five looks like.”
We had Jelahni Tavai on about a half an hour ago, and he was talking about a big difference for him this year is the way you, as a head coach, interact with younger guys. Robert Kraft said a very similar thing on this show a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to ask you about that in light of Matthew Judon. And if, we all saw what happened with you two out on the field, did the way that interaction happened bother you? Do you wish it happened differently? And was that a factor when it came to Matthew Judon not being here any longer?
“Look, Matthew and I have a great relationship, and I’m not sure what you guys thought, but we had a conversation man-to-man, which I thought was a good conversation. It wasn’t heated, it wasn’t anything like that. It was more just to figure out, “Like, what are we trying to achieve here?” Matthew, he’s made many contributions to our team. I love him both as a player and as a man, but I have nothing but good things to say about him. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work out. What I will say, I think it’s a win-win. He wanted a new contract and things like that, and I think it was a win-win for all of us.”
Jerod, one of the things that I know you kind of touched base on a little bit is just the third preseason game being on the road. When you start to look at that, I know it’s still a few days away, what’s your approach going to be with this game? Because with this new format, it’s almost like even though it’s the third preseason game, it’s the last one. And in years past, we know a lot of the first teamers don’t play in that. What’s your approach with this preseason game when it comes to your first team and what you’re going to do, especially with it, like you said, it being on the road?
“Yeah, Wiggy. I mean, look, you remember back in the day, we had four preseason games. So now we have three. I anticipate everyone that is healthy is going to play in the game. Once again, I’ve said this over the past few weeks, the only way you get good at football is playing football. So all these guys are preparing as if they’re going to play in the game.”
Jerod, how important is it for you to just be your own guy? We’ve seen a lot of people that learned under Bill or with Bill that have tried to replicate that without Bill, and it hasn’t had the greatest results. How do you feel you’ve done and how important is it for you to just be your own man and not try and be Bill Belichick as a head coach?
“Well, I think looking out the front windshield, that would be for you guys to decide. I am my own man, always have been. I learned a lot from Bill, and I just do some things a little bit differently. But that’ll be for you guys to decide going forward.”
Well, real quick, I want to, and this is credit to you, we have a new sponsor for this segment, Mayo Mondays, and it is Hellman’s Mayonnaise. Happy to have them. Happy to have them on board. And we have the Hellman’s Mayo question for Mayo right now, Courtney:
Jerod, I got to ask about slip and slide day because it’s fascinating to me. Having the rookies do the slip and slide, how do you make sure that you’re getting what you need out of them during that without them getting hurt?
“That’s been a long-standing tradition here. It’s been a long-standing tradition. And I think it’s important. It helps build camaraderie. It also puts those guys in a tough position to go out there and handle the rest of the practice when things aren’t right, when your shoes are soaking wet, your jersey is soaking wet. And you can see how guys respond, and you want them to respond positively, but that’s not always the case. I would also say we made the first-time coaches do the slip and slide, myself included as a first-time head coach, I did the slip and slide. You saw Hightower out there doing the slip and slide. It’s just one of those things that helps bring us together.”
All right. I got to ask you about this because we’ve had some fun with it. The virtual reality portion of training camp, were there virtual sprints? Tell me a little bit about that:
“The virtual reality system has been good. You want to get everyone reps in practice, especially at the quarterback position, but we are limited by time, and we’re limited by the CBA as far as being out on the field. I think tools like the virtual reality system help these guys steal reps. No virtual sprints, though. No virtual sprints.”
We’ve all had that experience where you run into an old girlfriend, somebody you used to date, and they look fantastic. Did you experience that at all watching any of Mac Jones on Saturday night?
“Look, I wish nothing but the best for Mac, and he’s having a good preseason, and I’m happy for him. I always talk about these are long term relationships. You guys have heard me say that, and I wish him nothing but the best. Unless he’s playing against the Patriots.”
Jerod, you talked about a lot of the first-time coaches and this being your first time as a head coach. When you start to look at some of the roles that some of the guys are doing, we see DeMarcus Covington, it looks like he’s the guy who’s calling the plays from the sideline, is there going to be sometimes where we see you doing that, or is it more of him, but collectively or a group approach? What’s your approach, especially being a defensive guy, when it comes to maybe calling the plays?
“We have coordinator meetings multiple times every week, and we go through the plans. Obviously, those plans change depending on how the game is going. But we’re on the same page offensively, defensively, and also special teams. You got to remember, I was a special teams core player as well. Don’t want to forget about the special teams. But I have great faith in those guys to go out there and handle the things that we’ve talked about in peace, and that those times of peace are in the coordinator meetings. So in the game, it’s hectic, and we’re on the same page.”
When it comes to a player like Brandon Ayuk, take us through how that decision-making happens. Is that Eliot’s call? Is that your call? Is that Robert Kraft’s call? Do you guys do it collaboratively? How do you end up putting together the deal that we have heard that you put together for that player?
“It’s a collaborative approach. And first of all, I thank ownership for entrusting Eliot and myself with making these decisions. Look, Aiyuk’s still holding out, so it definitely wasn’t us. It wasn’t just us. He’ll probably end up playing in San Fran. But ultimately, on the roster decisions, Eliot will make that final call.”
We get negative sometimes. Do you get the feeling that it will be difficult to get big money free agents here for a while?
“I think once this thing starts coming together and we start winning games, I think more players would want to come. I mean, it’s a great place out here in New England. If you love football, this is the place that you want to be.”
For a lot of fans a bit worried about the tight-end position. You guys have a banged-up tight-end room right now. Should we be worried or are you okay with it?
“No, I mean, I’m okay with it. I would say these aren’t extended recoveries for these guys. They’ll be ready to go relatively early in the season.”
And CeeDee [Lamb] is holding out CeeDee Lamb:
“Can’t talk about players on other teams, but you can put a call in.”
(Editor’s Note: This transcript is done via the available footage and is subject to typos. If you spot something, please take a moment to let me know in the comments below.)
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