Heading into Jerod Mayo’s first season as head coach, it sounds like one of his decisions might have truly backfired.
Chad Graff made an interesting revelation on Wednesday in The Athletic in what is a terrific piece, taking a look at Mayo’s inaugural season. That striking tidbit had to with how Mayo handled things with the defensive coordinator position.
According to Graff, former defensive coach Steve Belichick, who was officially listed as the team’s linebackers coach with Mayo in 2023 but handled the playcalling for the club on game days, was apparently passed over for the defensive coordinator job. That position obviously instead ended up going to Demarcus Covington, and the results certainly didn’t pan out quite like Mayo probably hoped.
“Even though Steve Belichick, Bill’s son, had been the Patriots’ defensive play caller in recent years while they routinely boasted top-10 units, Mayo didn’t offer him the chance to continue calling plays, according to a team source, opting instead for young defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington,” wrote Graff. “Mayo offered Steve a lesser role, but the younger Belichick declined and left to become the defensive coordinator at the University of Washington.”
In hindsight, that move might have been one of Mayo’s worst decisions. The Patriots suffered seven losses that weren’t even competitive this season, often due to their inability to match the adjustments made by their opponents.
The numbers are even more staggering. After 2023 saw New England finish 7th in yards per game, 11th in passing yards per game, 4th in rushing yards per game, and 15th in points per game, 2024 definitely ended up going in a different direction.
In 2024, the Patriots had a drop-off in nearly every category. They finished 22nd in yards per game, 10th in passing yards per game, 23rd in rushing yards per game, and 22nd in points per game.
But unlike 2023, it never really felt like they were in the majority of those losses. In fact, most of the games this season followed the same trend. The club spent each week chasing their opponent throughout the contest before ultimately coming up short, and it felt like Covington didn’t see the game as well in real-time compared to Belichick, nor did he come up with many answers.
Given the improvement on the offensive side of the ball, it’s possible some of those losses could have potentially gone the other way had Belichick stayed on. That might have changed the complexion of what was obviously a tough year.
At the same time, with a new coach incoming who will hopefully turn around their fortunes, they say everything happens for a reason. In Mayo’s case, his decision could ultimately be the club’s gain for the long term, provided the next person doesn’t make the same mistakes.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
I Hope Steve B. is on the list of D coordinators they look at.
I’m pretty sure he’s off to North Carolina with his dad
I would love to see Steve Belichick come back and at least interview for the position. I would also like to see Kraft hire an offensive minded coach. A chance to complete in a division that has at least 2 offensive minded coaches. Kraft also needs to open his checkbook for better players for Maye through free agency. We need a line that knows how to communicate blocking assignments against a blitz. Recievers who know how run routes and break away from the secondary. Our tight ends are good and the running backs are competitive. They just need a line… Read more »