Patriots' Jerod Mayo responds to surprising report

New England Patriots linebackers coach Jerod Mayo spoke with reporters Tuesday and addressed a report shared by Boston Sports Journal founder/editorial director Greg A. Bedard last month that claimed Mayo "has rubbed at least some people the wrong way in the building since his extension" that was signed last offseason. 

"I found it to be ... well the timing of it was a little bit weird in my opinion," Mayo said about Bedard's story, per Karen Guregian of MassLive. "And if that was the case, I feel like this would have been leaked sometime earlier. At the same time, I try to treat everyone the same way. And I will say this, I thought about it for a while. When people talk about rubbing people the wrong way, I mean, that’s part of the job of being a leader, is to rub people the wrong way."

It was previously believed that Patriots owner Robert Kraft viewed Mayo, who became New England's inside linebackers coach in 2019, as the eventual successor to head coach Bill Belichick. Belichick's future with the club beyond Week 18 is very much in question, as New England is about to miss the playoffs for the third time in four years.

"...I would just hope that going forward, those people give me an opportunity to explain myself and also an opportunity to get on the same track," Mayo added about Bedard's report. "At the end of the day, though, some people are going to like you, and some people aren’t. And I’m OK with that. Some reporters are going to like you, some reporters aren’t. Some players are going to like you, some aren’t. But I would hope there would be a mutual level of respect, a level of respect with the media, a level of respect with the coaches and also the players."

Kraft has not yet publicly confirmed his intentions regarding Belichick, but multiple knowledgeable individuals have said the fact that Patriots players haven't checked out amid the final weeks of a lost season could cause the owner to retain the six-time Super Bowl champion head coach this winter. New England fell to 2-10 but then won two of four games ahead of this coming Sunday's regular-season finale versus the 6-10 New York Jets. 

"And one thing I did learn this year, is just the resilience of the people in this building whether you’re talking about players or coaches, their resilience is definitely a reflection of the top with the Kraft family, and also coach Belichick, and I didn’t appreciate that as much until we went through it this year," Mayo said. "That’s one thing I learned."

Whether or not such lessons will help Mayo become a head coach in New England or elsewhere this offseason shall be seen.