Patriots HC Jerod Mayo
PATRIOTS HEAD COACH JEROD MAYO
PRESS CONFERENCE
August 1, 2024
JM: We’ve got the players back in the building. Yesterday, we gave them the day off. I know a lot of questions today will be about [Matthew] Judon and things like that, but just so you guys know, my philosophy and our philosophy is to keep as much internal as possible. We had a great meeting with Judon, and we’re all moving forward. I remember as a player, it’s always a difficult time, right? It’s always a difficult time when you go through contract negotiations and things like that. In saying that, for the rest of the team, we’re pushing forward. We fully expect Matthew to be out here today and participate in practice. But we’re looking forward to getting better out here today, and honestly, we’re a week away from playing football. I’m kind of excited to watch the Hall of Fame game tonight. So, the guys are ready to come out here and compete.
Q: Jerod, how do you look back on what happened out here on Monday with Matthew?
JM: Yeah, I’ll tell you this. First-time head coach and first time in pads, I’ll always remember what happened that day. In saying that, look, we had a conversation. I have a great relationship with Matthew; I have a great relationship with the players. But we’re moving forward, and we’re trying to work through it.
Q: I know you can’t get into the specifics, but how would you characterize that conversation with Matthew?
JM: It was good. It was healthy, and I’ll always encourage those guys to come in and speak with me or speak with Eliot [Wolf.]. That’s what it is, and those things should happen inside of those walls.
Q: It also must feel good to be able to get some kind of closure with Davon [Godchaux].
JM: Oh, absolutely. Look, that was a long process, but I’m glad we got that deal finished. Once again, it goes to the point of we want to sign players that we know still have good ball in them.
Q: How much did Monday help you, being an ex-player and having gone through situations with contracts, negotiations and stuff?
JM: Yeah, it’s helped a lot. In saying that, I will say each situation is unique to itself. So, we can sit here and say, ‘You should do this or do that.’ They’re all different situations. But like I said earlier, I feel good about where we are right now. I feel good about the way the players are operating out here on the field. I feel good about the way that Eliot and his staff are going about this stuff because obviously, he’s very heavily involved. So, we’re in a good place.
Q: Jerod, on Tuesday, Matthew wasn’t here at practice following what happened Monday. There was a report also that he wasn’t at the facility. Was that team-driven, and was he fined at all?
JM: I’m not ready to talk about that right now. What I will say is we gave the guys a day off yesterday to come out here today and be energized, and once again, we fully expect every player to come out here, participate and get better.
Q: You mentioned you want to keep things in-house. There was a report yesterday that there had been a contract offered, and his Twitter [X] account, which he says he does or does not run, immediately disputed that and said, ‘They’re trying to make me look bad again.’ Is that something that’s been addressed? Because it seems like that keeps pushing things into the forefront again.
JM: For me, and for Eliot as well, look, those are internal conversations. Once again, we always think about these as long-term relationships, whether we sign a player to a long-term extension, whether we sign a player off the street, whether we release a player. These are long-term relationships, and that’s something that I’ve always taken great pride in. All of those things aside, I mean, look, at some point in time, you’ll talk to Matthew. But right now, we just want to keep that in-house from our perspective.
Q: What about Davon Godchaux? What went into the team’s decision to give him a new contract?
JM: Well, the thing about Godchaux is he’s a huge piece of what we do. Look, it’s never a – well, at least for me – it’s never been just a clean process of, ‘Alright, you want a deal? Here’s a deal. Alright, we’re done.’ So, this was a little bit more extensive, but I’m happy to have him here. I’m happy to have Davon here happy and ready to go. So, it’s good.
Q: Did the way he’s carried himself in training camp have to do at all with getting that deal done where he’s out here participating every day even though he’s unhappy with that contract?
JM: Yeah, that is our philosophy, and once again, this isn’t unique to the New England Patriots as far as guys wanting a new contract. But he handled it like a professional in the classroom and out here on the field. He was out here in full pads participating in everything, and that definitely helps.
Q: Not a one-for-one exchange, but did Christian’s [Barmore] situation play into maybe a sense of urgency when it came to getting Davon signed?
JM: Honestly, those are two different types of players. The one thing about having DG [Davon Godchaux] back is that it does provide some stability up front. In saying that, by committee, we’ll have to try to replace the production of Christian. Honestly, just talking about Christian, I’ve had a couple of conversations with him. He’s in good spirits. It’s one of those things that you really can’t control, but when he’s ready to go, he’ll be here.
Q: Is there any anticipation that he’ll be ready to go this season at all?
JM: Honestly, I’m not sure. I’ll leave that to the medical professionals. I’m really not sure. I’m just happy that he’s doing good.
Q: Ja’Lynn Polk. What have you observed from him?
JM: Yeah, so I’ll tell you this. I’ve been a huge fan of Polk since scouting all those other players. He’s just one of those guys that when he puts the pads on, he’s that much better. He does the dirty work. He also can run great routes, has great hands. He’s one of those just all-around players that you want to build your team around, and I would also say he does flash some leadership ability, which I definitely appreciate.
Q: How much do you appreciate guys, from your perspective, that keep showing up on film every day when you go back and look at the practice film?
JM: Yeah, there are definitely guys that are showing up in really two phases; let’s count special teams as well. It’s good to see those guys get better, and I told you guys this during my presser that I’m in the business of developing men, developing good men before good players. But if we want to win games, we have to have good players, and it’s exciting to see guys like Ox [Oshane Ximines] take that step forward. Those guys are doing a good job just getting better and contributing.
Q: You said earlier in camp about Drake [Maye] that there will be ups and downs, and it felt like in the first two days of pads, there were some – a little bit of a rollercoaster. My question is, what did you learn about Drake after those two practices?
JM: Let’s rewind a little bit. I got this feeling when we met with Drake in [North] Carolina. Just his overall mental toughness and competitiveness, and he understands that it’s not always going to be clean. I will say this, he’s handled it very well. I know that the players really enjoy working with him, and he’s a competitor.
Q: Coach, when it comes to captains, have you decided how you’ll go about doing that, or just sort of the same way it’s been done?
JM: I think it’s always important to allow their peers to vote on captains. I don’t want anything to do with it. I know in my head who I think the leaders of the team are. Hopefully, that marries up with what the players say. But I think the players should have the opportunity to vote on their captains. One thing I will say on that, I’ve never been a huge fan of having 10 captains, eight captains or anything like that. I don’t know what that number looks like, but it will be up to the players.
Q: Jerod, just a more all-encompassing question. You’re now starting your second week here of training camp. Do you feel like your team is where you want them to be right now?
JM: One-hundred percent. Look, we have to realize that we have to get better each and every day. Even when we go through the regular season, where we are Week 1 should not be where we are Week 8, and that’s the approach that we’re taking.
Q: Going back to Drake. You see us up here – or maybe you don’t – but we’re charting every pass, every completion, every incompletion. I mean, is it fair to say that he is battling through a little bit here, a couple days that maybe were tough?
JM: You know, I would say all the rookies are battling through things. It’s a different scheme. It’s a different state. There’s just so much change for these guys. But what you want to see as those guys go through adversity, you want to see them handle it the right way. You don’t want to see the explosions on the sideline. You don’t want to see any of that. It’s all about the next page and turning the page, and that’s what I appreciate.
Q: Going back to that Drake Maye question, there’s been a lot of talk, maybe because of some of these struggles early on. What would be your message to people just about maybe those early struggles? Because he is a rookie.
JM: You know, look, people are going to have their opinions. I would say the opinions inside of the four walls matter most, and I would say the people inside the four walls know what they’re talking about. So, you can take that for what it is. We all support Drake. We all know what it’s like to be a rookie in this league. Not you guys, obviously, but I do. I know what it’s like to be a rookie, and it’s not all peaches and cream. You probably remember this: San Francisco, my rookie year, I got benched on third down. I only played early downs because I just wasn’t ready, and that was like Week 10, right? It was like Week 10, Week 11. But it was a wake-up call for me to get benched. I was [Defensive] Rookie of the Year, and I still got benched. So, whatever we want to talk about with Drake, there will be ups and downs, and hopefully it ends on an up.
Q: Did you ever consider giving Drake some reps with the top offensive grouping that Jacoby’s [Brissett] been with just to see what he can do with those guys?
JM: Like you guys said, it’s the second week of training camp. We have a game here a week from now. He’ll have an opportunity to go out there and participate with, if you want to call them ‘The Ones,’ but we mix and match. Alright, thanks, guys. I thought you guys were going to be harder than that, tougher. I was ready.
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