David Andrews, a longtime center and team captain for the New England Patriots, had shoulder surgery earlier in October and heard first-year head coach Jerod Mayo call the team “soft” after their 32-16 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars last Sunday.
Andrews talked about this controversial issue on his podcast, “The Quick Snap.”
“If you’re a player, it should make you angry, right? And that’s good,” Andrews said, as reported by Mark Daniels of MassLive. “It made me angry, and I’m not even playing. Going back to being coached hard, like, alright, now go out there and prove it. Go out there and take that. …I see both sides, but he’s the head coach, and I don’t think he lied.”
NESN’s Keagan Stiefel noted that several active Patriots players said they were fine with Mayo’s comments, which he tried to clarify on Monday. However, former coach Bill Belichick seemed to have a problem with Mayo’s statement and hinted that the 38-year-old could lose the players’ support.
Retired tight end Christian Fauria later mentioned that Mayo risked players “tuning [him] out,” and there are now rumors that Patriots owner Robert Kraft could consider a coaching change if the team continues to struggle, currently sitting at 1-6.
Andrews believes his healthy teammates should see the “soft” comment as a challenge to “change how [they are] viewed,” starting with their home game against the 2-5 New York Jets this Sunday.
“As a player,” Andrews added, “I’d take that and say, ‘OK, watch this. Watch what I’m about to do.’ You have to take ownership. Own everything you do. Own the good, bad, and ugly… Hopefully, we’ll try to do that this week.”
Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich confirmed on Wednesday that Aaron Rodgers is dealing with a new hamstring issue, in addition to injuries to both knees and a previously injured ankle. Despite this update, DraftKings Sportsbook has the Patriots as seven-point underdogs for the divisional game on Sunday.
It’s clear that Mayo’s team knows he’s facing a lot of pressure amid their six-game losing streak. How they respond could determine whether he keeps his job.
