Here's everything Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo said before Saturday's rookie minicamp session

For the first time, members of the media got to see Jerod Mayo coaching on the practice field at Gillette Stadium, with the New England Patriots welcoming numerous players for rookie minicamp. 

Eight draft picks along with nine undrafted free agents the Patriots signed were there. Only tackle Zuri Henry was not on the field with the team. 23 players were also in attendance for a tryout. 

The new head coach took a moment to address the media and answer questions before the rookies took the field. 

Here's everything Mayo said prior to Saturday's rookie minicamp session: 

Q: Are you a shorts and T-shirt in all weather type of guy?

Mayo: Yeah, honestly, I thought it was going to be a little warmer out here. I like hoodies. At the same time, I’m trying to do my own thing without the hoodie and now I’m just going to freeze my butt off.

Q: What did you accomplish yesterday and what are you trying to accomplish today?

Mayo: First and foremost, yesterday was more of an evaluation day to see how these guys are physically and also mentally. Today, we’ll have a little bit more as far as competitive drills. You know, still following the rules, but it would be good to see those guys actually going out there and playing football.

Q: Was there any player that really impressed you that first day and stood out to you?

Mayo: Honestly, we have 20 tryout guys here as well, so there are a lot of guys that came out here and looked good in shorts and T-shirts. I think the thing we have to remember is that it’s football, so there have been a lot of shorts-and-T-shirt all-stars that never really touched the field. We’ll have to wait and see until we get the pads on.

Q: What were your early impressions of Drake Maye?

Mayo: Early impressions of Drake? Look, he has a lot to work on. A lot to work on. But I have no doubt that he will put the time in. You didn’t see him out here yesterday, but he was here all night trying to get on the same page as everyone else.

Q: When it comes to Drake [Maye], what type of work are you guys doing with him, not on the practice field, but trying to get him up to speed with the playbook and the offense?

Mayo: Yeah, it just comes down to time, that’s the biggest hurdle. Then, you work under some of these phase 2, phase 3 rules, where you don’t have as much time as you want to, so you can’t have those conversations. Hard work works, we talk about it all the time, and he is working hard. Day 1 is kind of hard to say that this guy did X, Y, and Z.

Q: Is there a primary person that will be in the ear of Drake [Maye]?

Mayo: That’s a great question. You know, across the league, most offensive coordinators, they interact with the quarterback, the starting quarterback for the most part. We do have a group of coaches that have quarterback backgrounds, but I would say overall it would be AVP (Alex Van Pelt) as far as that lead guy.

Q: How would you describe the division of labor with the coaching staff in terms of developing Drake [Maye] and his individual development in things like running the offense?

Mayo: That’s a great question. There has to be balance there, you don’t want Drake hearing too many voices. Once again, that’s why I’m saying that AVP (Alex Van Pelt) will be the lead guy as far as that communication with Drake.

Q: In terms of what you can work on and accomplish over the course of minicamp, is the playbook able to be a part of that equation there? Are these guys studying on Day 1?

Mayo: Yeah, they are studying the plays that we are going to run during the season. You want to see if these guys can take what they pick up in the classroom and see if they can apply it on the field.

Q: Regarding the relationship between AVP (Alex Van Pelt) and the quarterbacks, how much of that is due to what you have learned about multiple voices in a quarterback’s ear, having one guy that is talking to him as opposed to hearing from different people?

Mayo: Honestly, that’s my own life. You hear all these voices, but you have to have a small circle that you really talk to and trust. I think AVP is in that circle. I know AVP is in that circle with Drake [Maye] and the rest of the quarterbacks.

Q: Have you seen much change with you in terms of how you attack a practice? You know, formerly a linebackers coach, what is going to change with you in a regular practice?

Mayo: Honestly, I have been over with the offense more than I have been with the defense. And that just goes back to continuing to grow and continuing to learn, like I said in those offensive meetings as well. I am learning right alongside those guys. As far as practice is concerned, I am going to bounce around, offense, defense, special teams. I mean, they all play a huge part in winning football games, but that is the benefit of having a bigger staff, or a larger staff, so I am able to do that.

Q: How would you describe Ben McAdoo’s role? What will be his primary domain?

Mayo: Yeah, Ben has tremendous experience. He has coached every position on the offensive side of the ball, so he was one of those catch-all players, just in case, as we started to build out the coaching staff. He has a great history, great background. He also helps me with some of the scheduling stuff, almost like an assistant head coach type of role there. But I do have a small circle of people I lean on as far as that is concerned.

Q: With your rookie quarterbacks, are they both on the same developmental schedule? Do you develop them simultaneously or do you do separate things with them?

Mayo: No, you have to do it together. You want it to be a fair competition, especially when we start doing offense versus defense. Look, once again, we have a lot of coaches here that know the position. So those guys, after the allotted time, they have to take it on their own to go out there and get better. That’s where you really start to see separation, those guys that do a little bit extra.

Q: Have you seen Joe [Milton III] throw the ball yet?

Mayo: I have, I’ve seen Joe throw the ball.

Q: Javon Baker expressed a high level of self-confidence, which is great, I’m sure you want that. But is there a point where you say that’s terrific, but let’s have a little less?

Mayo: Honestly, like for me, I want these guys to have a personality, I want them to feel free to talk about certain things. Look, we’ll have rules of what to talk about. But now, once he puts it out there, he has to show it every day out here on the football field. If not, he’s just a talker and you start to lose the respect of the locker room and things like that. So, he said it, he put that out there, and now you have to show us.

Q: The team is interviewing for the Executive VP of Player Personnel. How does that tie into you? How important is that?

Mayo: For me, it really has just been about rookie minicamp, and I hate to give you that answer, but we have guys here that are going to be on our team. So, I’ve really just been focusing on that.

Q: A report came out that Matthew Slater is going to be on your staff. Can you just talk about what his role is going to be?

Mayo: Yeah, Slate (Matthew Slater) is on the staff and I am happy about that. You know, we came in together in 2008. Who ever would have thought, I always joke with him, like when we were in that room for rookie minicamp, that he would have a gold jacket one day? And hopefully he does get that gold jacket. But, he is an advisor for me on all things football, and honestly, the things off the field. He is a very smart individual and I would say we see most things the same way. And at the same time, I know he is a guy that will be honest with me. Once you put the head coach hat on, it is hard to find people that are honest with you.

Q: Is it like a player development role too?

Mayo: Yeah, that’s part of it, but once again, I would say he is just one of my advisors.

Q: Does this kind of feel like a rookie minicamp for you in your first head coaching job?

Mayo: Yeah, honestly, yeah, it feels great. It feels great to get on, like the first day I was out on the field with the guys, that was like that “a-ha” moment. Everyone was asking me, you know, “how does it feel?” It felt regular to me to be inside, but as soon as I came out here and was able to talk to different positions, that was like that “a-ha” moment.

Q: Did you watch the Tom Brady roast?

Mayo: No. You know what, that’s a fib. I started off watching it. I’m going to be honest, we want to have transparency and honesty. I started off watching it, and then I was like, “I’m going to change the channel.”

Q: Too much?

Mayo: It was too much for me, but it is what it is.

Q: You have to go back and at least watch Bill [Belichick] during it though.

JM: No, I’m not watching it. I haven’t watched “The Dynasty,” I haven’t watched the whole roast. I am just focused on what I have to do. I think you guys will be nice to me if we win games, not watching Netflix.

Q: Were there any tryout guys that impressed you?

JM: Yeah, there were a few. Look, once again, this is another day to add into it. You can’t just take one day and say, “this guy showed out.” I know that’s the hot thing to do. At the same time, we’ll do a lot here today and you guys will get a chance to see these guys as well. So, ask that next time we talk.

Q: What do you look for from those tryout guys?

Mayo:JM: Honestly, it’s an evaluation. It’s about movement skills, it’s about what they can pick up in the classroom, how these guys learn, and how they can help our team going forward.