Lazar: How Do the Patriots Handle the Jerod Mayo-Steve Belichick Conundrum?

The Patriots’ defensive collapse culminating in a disastrous Wild Card loss to the Bills has those inside and outside the building searching for answers.

How did a Bill Belichick defense, even a short-handed one, allow the most points ever in the Belichick era in a playoff game to their division rivals?

Sure, the Patriots had COVID issues, injuries, and personnel deficiencies in the front seven, but lesser talented groups have fared better than that.

Plus, for those paying attention, the defense was coming apart already in the weeks leading up to a 47-17 beat down by Buffalo, including Week 16 loss where the Bills offense didn’t punt. In their last two matchups, Josh Allen and company went 16-straight drives without punting against New England’s defense with 11 touchdowns.

Without an official defensive coordinator, the Pats are a collaborative effort on defense with three main voices: head coach Bill Belichick, outside linebackers coach Steve Belichick, and inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo. Former Pats DC and Lions head coach Matt Patricia also provided input this season.

After collapsing down the stretch, fingers point at the defensive play-caller, who also happens to be the head coach’s son, Steve Belichick.

Belichick’s title is technically the outside linebackers coach, but it’s now on public record that he’s calling defensive plays for the Patriots.

Speaking to multiple sources in the organization, Belichick is well-liked by the players, and nobody described the drama that some are pedaling with a divide in the locker room.

In fact, the coaching was at the bottom of the list in terms of why things went awry, with players speaking to the teams’ failures to up their level of execution after grabbing the top seed in the AFC after 13 weeks.

However, league sources pointed to an awkward dynamic between Belichick and Mayo as a pressure point on the coaching staff.

Although there wasn’t noticeable tension, the former Patriots linebacker-turned-coach is stuck behind the coach’s son, with a source saying that Mayo “feels like he deserved more.”

Although Belichick has been the defensive play-caller since 2019, Mayo has a more significant role directing the defense during the week.

The Pats’ inside linebackers coach makes presentations to the defense, has a massive hand in game-planning, and is primarily responsible for substituting defensive packages during games.

Then, he turns things over to Belichick to call the plays and get the credit or blame, depending on the results. Even the eldest Belichick began publicly acknowledging Steve’s role as the play-caller late in the 2020 season.

“In many cases, (Mayo) handled the responsibilities of a DC, while Steve was the play-caller,” a league source told CLNS Media. “Mayo did a lot for a guy with his salary and title.”

Ultimately, Mayo and Belichick made the best out of the collaborative setup on the defensive staff.

The question now circulating around Gillette Stadium is what happens if Mayo stays in New England, with rising pressure surrounding Mayo’s role moving forward.

Mayo is a sought-after candidate for many teams as a head coach. His motivational tactics and football smarts have garnered rave reviews from teams that interviewed the Pats assistant for their head coaching vacancies.

But it would also be easier for him to receive the defensive coordinator title elsewhere. Everyone we spoke with unanimously agreed that Mayo would never officially be the defensive coordinator with the Patriots.

Suppose Mayo misses out on a promotion to head coach or defensive coordinator elsewhere. In that case, the Patriots find themselves bringing back a defensive staff with a real conundrum among the loudest voices.

Bill Belichick took a more hands-on approach with the defense during their seven-game winning streak, leading to a dominant stretch with the unit in complete unison at all three levels.

As was the case in the first six games of 2021, Belichick let his assistants take the lead after the Patriots bye week, and the results speak for themselves.

There aren’t clear-cut answers as to why the Patriots’ head coach put the defense back into his assistants’ hands, but players were searching for a leader to follow and never found one.