The New England Patriots are returning from their bye week with a tough final four games in what has been a rocky Year 1 for this new regime. Owner Robert Kraft chose Eliot Wolf and Jerod Mayo to lead his franchise, and the Pats are 3-10 with few signs of improvement outside of rookie quarterback Drake Maye.
So it’s no surprise that most of the questions I received for this mailbag revolved around Wolf and Mayo. Let’s jump right in. (Some questions have been edited for clarity or length.)
Although Mayo and his staff have done a poor overall coaching job, the bigger problem for the past several years has been talent assessment. Pairing inexperienced coaches with an inexperienced “GM” was incredibly poor judgment in my opinion. Assuming Mayo returns, who do you think could step in as GM and turn things around? — Aron C.
I’m in total agreement on the inexperience within Gillette Stadium. They have a first-time NFL head coach, defensive coordinator, offensive play caller, special teams coordinator and head of personnel. Those are probably the five most important positions when it comes to leading a football department, and they’re all learning on the job.
The resulting hiccups have been obvious as they try to grow into their roles. But it’s been especially difficult that they’re all so inexperienced. I don’t think Mayo would have struggled as much with a more experienced staff. And I don’t think Wolf would have had as many personnel whiffs if he were working with a more experienced coach.
Right now, though, the Patriots have to use 2024 as a learning experience and hope that the people in those positions will be better next year. Because I don’t anticipate changes at head coach or de facto general manager.
How do other coaches perceive Mayo? Is the feeling around the league that he will develop into a competent head coach in a reasonable amount of time? Or do they think Kraft made a major mistake? — Jordan M.
Outside coaches typically aren’t great judges of this sort of thing. They almost always stick up for their fellow coaches and say they deserve more time to build their culture. So coaches around the league right now think Mayo is going through his natural lumps in Year 1 with a bad roster while establishing his culture.
The key question is whether that’s true or just coachspeak intended to protect their own. But I don’t get the sense that people on the outside are mocking the Patriots for choosing Mayo.
Any vibe on whether center David Andrews is likely to return next season? I feel his experience managing the O-line could lend a big boost to Maye’s development. — Steve K.
I’ve been impressed by just how much Andrews has remained around the team. Usually, when guys suffer season-ending injuries, they rehab on their own and aren’t around the facility. That hasn’t been the case with Andrews, who has been serving as another coach and trying to teach Cole Strange to play center.
If he wanted to coach, I think he’d have a job on Mayo’s staff. But for now, I think (it’s just a guess) Andrews wants to keep playing.
At what point can we start to doubt Eliot Wolf’s ability in free agency? None of his big signings have panned out. The draft class outside of Maye hasn’t been exciting. And then there’s the whole deal with thinking the O-line was fine all offseason. What has he done to instill faith in the front office? — Paul S.
The time to start being concerned about the front office was about two months ago. Wolf was adamant the offensive line was fine (it’s not). He botched the draft outside of Maye. He somehow allowed the wide receiver position to get even worse than last year.
There’s a lot of criticism for Mayo, and it’s largely fair. But to me, the bigger issue in the team’s struggles has been the roster Wolf built. It would be hard to ask even the best coaches in the league to win six games with this group. That falls on Wolf.
We now have an adequate sample size that shows Mayo isn’t ready to be a head coach. From his in-game strategy to his comments to the media to the coaching staff he surrounded himself with. Why should Mayo keep his job? — Garrett F.
OK, here’s the devil’s advocate for what you just listed. There are two main reasons not to make a change: the situation and the optics.
Looking at the situation first, Mayo has the worst roster in the NFL. It was always going to take time to turn this thing around given the lack of talent Mayo inherited. So he deserves more than 10 months on the job.
The second is the optics. Kraft has said he knew Mayo was going to be his next coach years before the change was made. Imagine how bad of a look it would be to then turn around after one season and fire the guy you made coach-in-waiting.
Is the deal with Mayo similar to Nick Sirianni in Philly? Sirianni has good coordinators, and he just lets them work. Is that what Mayo is trying to do? It seems to work in Philly because they have more talent. So what’s the next step here? — Jerry C.
Possibly, but that’s also a trend in coaching searches. The last trend was to get a young offensive play caller. Now owners increasingly seem interested in landing a CEO-type coach who relates to players and hires good coordinators. Perhaps Dan Campbell is a better example of this than Sirianni.
The other problem for the Patriots in terms of the next step is that it’s hard to evaluate offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt and defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington when they have such poor talent to work with. I’d actually argue Van Pelt has done a decent job given the personnel he has. Covington has been the bigger issue.
So maybe the next step for Mayo in the offseason is to take more ownership of the defense while letting Van Pelt continue to run the show offensively.
Considering how inconsistent our receiver play has been, how long before we see Javon Baker? And if Ja’Lynn Polk and Baker don’t shake out, what is the likely course of action with the WR corps? — Xwingalex
Here’s an easy guess simply from reading the tea leaves: The Patriots are going to be all in on Tee Higgins. They’ve shown an interest in established receivers, and Higgins is the best free agent. I expect them to offer him the moon. The question is whether he says yes or no. Speaking of which …
Can the Patriots be successful in free agency after another losing season? New England is no longer a destination for players, and even overpaying didn’t result in any stars coming last year. How can they overcome this? — David M.
Two words: Drake Maye. There are four main factors when attracting offensive free agents (and specifically wide receivers): money, the quarterback, the destination and the chance of winning. In recent years, the Patriots couldn’t offer three of those four things. Now, if they offer Higgins more than anyone else and pair him with Maye, maybe that overcomes being in a rebuild in a cold-weather market.
At this point of the season, what overall grade would you give the Pats? — Ed H.
D. And only Maye is keeping it from being an F.
(Photo: David Butler II / Imagn Images)
