Former Patriots DB addresses apparent rift between Bill Belichick, Jerod Mayo

Former New England Patriots defensive back and current NFL analyst Devin McCourty played alongside current New England head coach Jerod Mayo during Bill Belichick's lengthy tenure with the organization and, thus, knows plenty about the two men. 

During a Tuesday appearance on the Pro Football Talk Live program, McCourty touched upon what seems to be a growing rift between Mayo and Belichick amid New England's losing season. 

"We used to call Jerod, 'Jerod Belichick.' We used to say he was like Bill’s long-lost son because of how he was and how similar he was to Bill as a player," McCourty explained. "I hate to see the way this has all unfolded that they’re not kind of close and Jerod can’t call up Bill as a former colleague, as a coach, and then as your former head coach. I hate that part of this, so hopefully they work this out and we stop seeing these kind of subtle shots back and forth in the media." 

Mayo played under Belichick from 2008 through 2015 and later joined the New England coaching staff as an inside linebackers coach in 2019. This past January, Patriots owner Robert Kraft parted ways with Belichick and quickly named Mayo the club's next head coach. 

Mayo raised some eyebrows when he suggested last week that Belichick is largely to blame for the 1-6 Patriots' lack of talent throughout their roster. After Mayo said following the club's 32-16 Week 7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars that he felt New England is "a soft football team," Belichick defended Patriots players and even hinted that Mayo could spark somewhat of a locker-room mutiny via such controversial comments.

"Right now, they’re not a tough football team," McCourty said about a Patriots side that surrendered 171 rushing yards versus Jacksonville. "They don’t run the ball very well. They’re not stopping the run. ...One of the things that I’ve heard when I went back there and talked to players is, 'Mayo’s telling us exactly how it is.' Anything he said in the meeting means he came and he told [them] that already as a team and they said he’s been very kind of forward in what he said to the team."

It was reported on Tuesday that Mayo may not be "assured of a second season" as Patriots head coach if the ongoing campaign becomes "a complete dumpster fire." As of Wednesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed New England as a seven-point underdog for this coming Sunday's home game against the 2-5 New York Jets.