Patriots' Jerod Mayo Upset With Drake Maye Leak

New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo was not very happy about how the Drake Maye news broke.

Aug 15, 2024; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo walks out to check on an injured player during the second half against the Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images / Eric Canha-Imagn Images

The New England Patriots named Drake Maye their starting quarterback earlier this week, but the news broke before head coach Jerod Mayo announced it himself.

That was a bit unsettling for Mayo.

When asked if he was unhappy about how the quarterback change was released, Mayo didn't really mince words.

"A little bit," Mayo said, via Sean T. McGuire of NESN. “Any type of decision that’s a big decision, you want to let the team know first. But in saying that, look, these guys, they read everything. It’s fine.”

The news broke on Tuesday, when Patriots players were on an off day.

But here's what's strange about the whole thing: Mayo said that he spoke with Maye and Jacoby Brissett on Tuesday night, which would mean that the two signal-callers found out about the change via social media rather than from Mayo himself.

That couldn't have left a very positive impression on Brissett or New England's locker room, especially with the team having lost four straight games.

And let's remember that last week, there were rumors of a "mutiny" within the Pats' locker room, so if the players really found out about the quarterback change in news reports instead of from the mouth of their head coach, it obviously wouldn't do much to help the issue of the supposed unrest.

Mayo has always been widely criticized for his rather questionable in-game decisions, particularly as far as clock management is concerned.

To be fair, Mayo is just a rookie head coach, so it's entirely possible that he will improve in these areas as time passes.

But it certainly hasn't been a nice honeymoon phase for Mayo, who had previously been serving as the team's linebackers coach under Bill Belichick.

We'll see if the Patriots can rally around Maye when they host the Houston Texans this Sunday. New England is just 1-4 thus far in 2024.

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