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Are Patriots taking ‘shots’ at Belichick? Jerod Mayo clears the air originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
New Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo and head of personnel Eliot Wolf both have spoken at length about installing a new culture and a new way of operating in New England.
Mayo said he “(doesn’t) like echo chambers” and expressed a desire to “knock down silos and collaborate.” Wolf admitted there’s “more of an open — less of a hard-ass type — vibe” at the Patriots’ facility. Both used the word “different” multiple times in their introductory press conferences.
There’s a reading of those comments that doesn’t reflect well on former head coach Bill Belichick, who was the culture-setter in New England for the previous 24 seasons. By highlighting what needs to change in their new regime, Mayo and Wolf appeared to be spotlighting all that was wrong in Belichick’s old regime.
On Wednesday, however, Mayo pushed back on the narrative that he and the Patriots are taking veiled digs at their former boss.
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“Look, it’s going to be different,” Mayo told reporters, including our Patriots Insider Phil Perry, at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. “Bill did a great job for a long period of time. I don’t want you guys to take this, just because we’re changing, as shots toward the previous regime.”
“In saying that, we will do it differently, and it’ll feel different. And at the end of the day, we would like to replicate the success that the prior regime had.”
Mayo is in a bit of a difficult spot. The reality is New England went 4-13 last season, with several facets of Belichick’s regime — a tight-knit coaching staff and front office with nebulous titles; an against-the-grain grading system of NFL Draft prospects; and a highly-demanding, no-nonsense culture — leading to dysfunction among players and coaches. Significant changes…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/patriots-taking-shots-belichick-jerod-140043905.html
Author : NBC Sports Boston
Publish date : 2024-02-28 14:05:41
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