Patriots Ex Rob Ninkovich: Jerod 'Jealousy'

Former New England Patriots linebacker Rob Ninkovich isn't buying the report that Jerod Mayo is "rubbing people the wrong way" within the organization.

Jerod Mayo, former New England Patriots star and current linebackers coach, has been a popular candidate for a while now to eventually replace Bill Belichick as the team's head coach. That is, until a recent report cast doubt on the scenario.

Last month, the Boston Sports Journal reported that Mayo had "rubbed people the wrong way" within the organization, particularly after signing a recent extension. Then at the start of the new year, Mayo responded to the report that he labeled as "hurtful."

“Yeah, honestly, I try to stay out of reading a lot of the articles and things during the year…But, when that report came out, my brother sent it to me … it was more hurtful than anything.” Mayo said. “I found the timing to be a little bit weird in my opinion.”

Rob Ninkovich

Now, another former Patriots linebacker in Rob Ninkovich, who played with Mayo from 2009-15, gave a passionate defense of his former teammate in the aftermath of that report.

“I think for me as a teammate of Jerod, and a friend of Jerod, I know the type of man that he is, the type of person and player he was on the field,” Ninkovich said Monday on the Up and Adams Show With Kay Adams. “He was the smartest guy on the field.”

Ninkovich also refuted the report's validity, and claimed that it came from a place of "jealousy" from other members of the organization that haven't gotten the same chances as Mayo.

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“You have to understand that the coaching world is a shallow business where you have other coaches that are potentially mad that you are in a position that you’re in,” Ninkovich said. “It only takes one guy to go out there and talk to a reporter on the side and say, ‘See, he’s kind of walking around differently around here,’ just because they’re mad themselves and they’re haters...

“The Mayo thing, I do believe that was a jealous ‘somebody’ that put that out there, because I don’t believe that to be true.”

Mayo, 37, has earned the endorsement of several former Patriots, and with the Belichick era potentially coming to a close, his name will certainly be one to watch.

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