Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft should stop dragging Jerod Mayo right into a silly Patriots argument

It seems that Jerod Mayo wasn't entirely incorrect when he made his much-analyzed remark that the New England Patriots were “soft.” It's just that he directed his Insta-Slam post on the incorrect people: If only he had directed it on the Patriots as a substitute of the Patriots, Mayo could be greeted at every port of call in Football America.

The Patriots legends we're talking about are Robert Kraft, the franchise's undoubted savior, whose vision and business acumen are the explanation the NFL has a team called the “New England Patriots” somewhat than a team called the “St. Louis Stallions” or whatever they would have been called if only the late James Busch Orthwein had his way.

The other legend is Bill Belichick, undoubtedly the greatest coach in NFL history, whose two decades of point/counterpoint produced six Super Bowl victories with Tom Brady. (And if you're of the Belichick-is-overrated variety)hamlet-never-won-anything-without-Brady Camp, please sell your craziness elsewhere. I've explained this madness a thousand times and I don't have the patience to do it again today.)

But two things can be true at the same time. Yes, Belichick is a surefire Hall of Fame coach, and yes, Kraft should have gotten his Canton kiss years ago, but in recent weeks these two guys have presented themselves as a couple of needy, insecure old men.

Caught in the middle of this Kraft Belichick whining and whining is Mayo, whose focus is on the 2024 Patriots. Unlike the 83-year-old Kraft and the 72-year-old Belichick, who cannot move from the Patriots in 2019 to 2023.

It starts with Kraft wanting to take his share of credit for the good things that have happened to the 21st century Patriots, but at the same time wanting to make it seem like he was in the next room when the bad things happened.

But Kraft was definitely out for lunch when he appeared on “The Breakfast Club” and said, “Our record during the last three to 4 years was not what I wanted.” And I had given him (Belichick) so much power. He had complete control over everything. And I’m ashamed, I should have had some better checks and balances.”

No one needed a secret decoder ring to translate what Kraft was saying, which was that Belichick screwed everything up when the owner turned his back on him.

Those words of strength gave Belichick a moment of restraint that proved he might be even more needy and insecure than his former boss.

“These guys are kind of hurting me,” Belichick said during his appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.”

“To call them soft – they are not soft. They were the best team in the league against the run last year, and those guys did it even though we couldn’t score many points offensively.”

“The Patriots led the league in rushing defense last year and they still have a lot of those players.”

I feel sorry for these guys because they aren’t gentle.

I feel sorry for the defensive players because they’re all tough players” ~ Bill Belichick #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/wVN9ufcNMg

– Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 21, 2024

Again, you don't need a secret decoder ring. Belichick was nominally talking about Mayo, but in point of fact he was talking about Kraft and essentially said, “This is what you get when you fire me.”

Belichick also spoke to his former players when he said, “I feel bad for the defensive players in this game because that's a tough group.” Jon Jones, (Davon) Godchaux, Jennings, Josh Uche. They are all strong players.”

Secret decoder ring:

Belichick is paid well to be opinionated and provocative. He throws in need and billing at no cost. As for Kraft, I can't help but feel like all the pieces he says is geared toward strengthening his Hall of Fame candidacy, except the attempts seem unnecessary and awkward. Kraft must be judged by his record, not his memories.

Furthermore, if Kraft truly believes that it was a scarcity of a system of checks and balances that doomed the Patriots in the ultimate years of the Belichick era, he would have made sure to assist his recent coach Mayo with a few of those checks and balances. Years ago, when the Red Sox hired 28-year-old Theo Epstein as general manager, they hired the late Bill Lajoie, a veteran baseball player who helped construct a World Series-winning team in Detroit, as a “special assistant.” Alex Cora brought in Ron Roenicke because the relief coach in his first 12 months as manager of the Red Sox. Roenicke coached the Milwaukee Brewers for greater than 4 seasons and likewise managed the Dodgers' Double-A San Antonio club in 1997, when 21-year-old Alex Cora was his shortstop.

Aside from Ben McAdoo and his two seasons as head coach of the New York Giants, there isn't much experienced prospect on the 2024 Patriots. Some of that’s on Mayo. Most of the time, these were personal responsibilities, overseeing the rebuilding of the front office and training staff.

As for Belichick, his cute little dog isn't fooling anyone. By invoking Mayo, he reveals his own softness.

The referendum on Jerod Mayo's tenure as Patriots head coach will likely last through the tip of this season and into the offseason. But mainly it's pointless. It's as much as the Patriots to see what Mayo can do with a 12 months of head coaching experience on his resume. It can be incumbent on the Patriots to work with Mayo and executive vice chairman of player personnel Eliot Wolf so as to add something to the coaching staff and front office that has already been done.

And it's incumbent on Mayo to a) improve its messaging and b) while I even have everyone's attention, perhaps attempt to be a little bit more aggressive with the sport call. You know, surprise us every so often.

Ultimately, it will be as much as Kraft and Belichick to take their little argument to the schoolyard and stop dragging Mayo into it. He has contemporary, adult things to do.