Patriots HC Jerod Mayo

PATRIOTS HEAD COACH JEROD MAYO

PRESS CONFERENCE

January 1, 2025

 

JM: Good morning, and Happy New Year. Before I start, I just found out what’s going on in the city of New Orleans. I just want to make sure that I offer condolences to all those that are affected. Obviously it’s a very unfortunate thing that happened. It puts things in perspective, lives being changed like that. I just want them to know that both me, the team, and the organization definitely offer our heartfelt condolences. All right, this game, it’s the last game of the season. My message to the guys was we want to finish off the season strong and try to build some momentum going into the offseason. I would say the guys are ready to go. We’ll see how practice goes today. Obviously, I’m sure the question will come up, ‘do you want to see certain players?’ Absolutely. I would say if players are healthy, they’ll be ready to go. As far as how much they play, how much they don’t, I’ve never been a part of a team, as a player or as a coach, going into a game not wanting to win. It’s not going to change today, so that’s my message to the team.

 

Q: Jerod, what can you tell us about the condition of Drake [Maye]? Do you expect him to start on Sunday?

 

JM: You’re going to talk to Drake here in a second. Drake’s healthy. He’ll be at practice today, and we’ll see how it goes this week.

 

Q: You had another guy who left the game on Saturday with a concussion issue with Christian Gonzalez. Any updates as to whether he’ll be playing?

 

JM: He’s still in the protocol, so I don’t want to get too far down that line.

 

Q: Jerod, when you say, ‘We’ll see how it goes this week’ referring to Drake, what factors will be at play when deciding whether he starts Sunday?

 

JM: If you talk to Drake, which you will here soon, he’s a competitor. He wants to play. He’s still developing, so he’ll be ready to go.

 

Q: If he wants to play, will he start?

 

JM: Drake is our starting quarterback. If he’s healthy and ready to go, as we go through this week of practice, then he’ll play.

 

Q: Jerod, you said that you want to make sure that you’re winning the game, but also mentioned earlier that you want young players to get opportunities. How much of an opportunity is this game to get those guys more chances?

 

JM: We’ll have to see how the game goes.

 

Q: Yesterday, you guys waived Yannick [Ngakoue], What went into that decision?

 

JM: Just trying to give a veteran player an opportunity to catch on with a team that will be in the postseason. I’ll just say this about Yannick. He did a great job. He was great in the meeting rooms. He was great out there in the practice field. A veteran that brought a lot to the table, and wish him nothing but the best.

 

Q: What about for a guy like Drake? You’ve made it this far into the season. There’s only one game left. What about the risk of injury now with just this one game?

 

JM: That’s any position. I know oftentimes we focus on the quarterback spot, but that’s part of playing football.

 

Q: Is there any concern about saying to the team, if you were to sit him, that he’s more important than everyone else?

 

JM: Everyone that’s healthy will be ready to play and are expected to play.

 

Q: I think it was Monday you addressed the idea of Joe [Milton III] maybe getting some time. What’s the level of faith there with him? I know you know what you have pretty much with Jacoby [Brissett], but specific to Joe, is it possible?

 

JM: I would say it’s still all up in the air. All three quarterbacks, as we’ve carried two, and the emergency quarterback, will be ready to go.

 

Q: What have you seen from Joe since he got in the building in late April, early May, to where he is now?

 

JM: I think his ability to read coverages has definitely improved. He has all the physical tools. I would say the command of the huddle has also improved, and he’s done a good job on the show teams throughout the week.

 

Q: You talked about laying a foundation. Which portions of the foundation do you feel are most solidly laid so far, in terms of from last January to a year later?

 

JM: I’m not going to get into the different position groups, but I would think that we all…

 

Q: I mean culture-wide, locker room-wide?

 

JM: Yeah, look, these guys have come in here every week, and I know our record is what it is. They come in here every single week during a hard season, ready to work, going out there trying to get better. I think that’s huge. That’s part of it.

 

Q: Jerod, what have you learned about Drake to this point, and what more could you learn?

 

JM: I feel like we talk about this often. I would just say his ability to change the page and learn from his mistakes.

 

Q: Any reflections on this being the last week of the season, and what this journey has been like for you so far?

 

JM: Yeah, I think it’s important to remember where you are in the journey, and no one’s happy with our record or anything like that. Understanding where you are in the journey is definitely important.

 

Q: How much better of a coach are you today than you were at the time as you go and build this process?

 

JM:  Yeah, for me, first year doing anything, there are going to be growing pains and things like that. You have to learn from those mistakes. Move forward, do the things that you did well early in the season, and carry them over to the next season.

 

Q: You mentioned Dan Campbell before when talking about the lumps you expected to take in your first year. What stands out to you about how he was able to turn things around?

 

JM:  It takes time. I would say you look at those guys now, both from a roster and a coaching perspective. From his first year to his second year to his third year, all those things, there was change, and he got it nailed down, and those guys are playing well. There are other examples, but right now I’m focused on the Bills for the most part, and that’s what we’re going to do.

 

Q: You said earlier that you’ll have to see how the week goes before you make any decisions about the quarterbacks. What will have to happen during the week to change anything from what you’ve done in the past?

 

JM: It’s been this way the whole year. You go out there and have a good week of practice. We’re always competing, and you have an opportunity in the game. It’s not about how many snaps you play in the game. To me, it’s the value and the quality of those snaps that are the most important thing as we evaluate.

 

Q: What have you learned about yourself this year?

 

JM: Are you being serious? This is the same question. Just being resilient, just trying to be resilient. It hasn’t gone the way that any of us have wanted it to go, and it’s a huge piece of it. Steve Jobs, I think, had a quote where you have winning seasons or, ‘winning years, and then you have character-building years,’ and this has been one of those character-building years that I’ll always remember.

 

Q: You said on Saturday that you hear the fans and some of the chants. Does that affect you?

 

JM: No. For me, it’s all about the guys in the locker room. Look, they’re disappointed in the record. I understand that. Look, even with you guys in the media, I understand what your job is, and that’s okay. My thing is it’s always about the team, and it’s about winning football games.

 

Q: Are you concerned or worried about that this could be your last game on Sunday?

 

JM: For me, it’s all about just focusing on the Bills trying to win that game.

 

Q: How much work have you had to do on the Bills, considering you played them just two weeks ago?

 

JM: Yeah, I mean, look, you always want to prepare as if it’s the first time you played them. Look, we know those guys, and you go back and look at that game, the first half versus the second half, and we were in it for quite some time until the second half just got out of control. Definitely still doing all of our homework. We’re still game-planning, approaching it like a normal week.

 

Q: Jerod, over the last couple days, have Eliot [Wolf] or anyone in ownership had any input on the approach when it comes to who will play Sunday?

 

JM: Look, I’m in constant communication with Eliot. I’m in constant communication with ownership. Again, I’ve never been a part of a team, as a player or a coach, where we haven’t gone out there and tried to win the game. So those conversations haven’t happened.

 

Q: When you’re assessing trying to figure out why things are going wrong, how do you parse through what’s the result of coaching, player execution, talent?

 

JM: Yeah, that’s part of it. You have to evaluate everything. You have to evaluate the different processes throughout the week. You have to evaluate the coaches. I have to evaluate myself and have others evaluate me. Look, when you have a season like this, you’ve got to evaluate everything.

 

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