Jerod Mayo Calling Jacoby Brissett 'Probably the Slowest Black Quarterback in the League' Proves Things are Indeed Different in Foxboro

The oldest trick in the sports business is to replace a fired coach with his polar opposite personality type. Specifically, when you've got a stern, tough, demanding taskmaster type who leaves or you've fired because he's no longer producing results, the Franchise Ownership Handbook says you bring in a friendly, laid back, relaxed type who'll give the players more latitude. And vice versa. Reduced to the simplest archetypes, you switch from the Disciplinarian to the Players coach. 

There are countless examples. But just to stick to Boston sports so I don't have to do any research, the Celtics of the 1980s went from Bill Fitch to KC Jones. The Patriots of the '90s replaced Bill Parcells with Pete Carroll. As far as how that worked out, KC was beloved on a team with strong veteran leadership. He let the players on the court make decisions like who should guard Magic Johnson in the '84 Finals. They won two championships under his laissez faire approach, and came within an epidemic of injuries away from winning a third. Whereas the Patriots tended to tune Carroll out. Guys like Terry Glenn basically wiped their feet on him. Their won-loss record got worse with each passing year. And after three seasons, he was replaced with the ultimate disciplinarian. 

So now that after 24 years of having a benign despot run his team, Mr. Kraft went back to the book. Since Day One on the job, Mayo has given every indication he's going to give his players the kind of leeway he feels he would've responded to as a Pro Bowler and perennial team captain. They're freer to speak their minds. Complain about their contract negotiations. Do social media. They'll be wearing captains' patches for the first time. That sort of thing. 

But of all the changes to the culture in New England, so far this exchange has been the most noteworthy:

Well alrighty then. I did not see this one coming. I mean it's a hell of a way to compliment your quarterback who kept the chains moving for you with seven carries for 32 yards and 4.6 YPA. 

And I'm not going to argue with the factual accuracy of Mayo's point. One, I have some analytics sites bookmarked, but don't think any of them keep track of this metric. And the last thing I need is that on my Google search history. I just never noticed this before during Brissett's first tour of duty in Foxboro when he ran circles around the Texans in a 27-0 blowout win. Note the way Shaq Mason pulls to submarine Benardrick McKinney and Marcus Cannon drills JJ Watt down into the Earth's mantle:

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But, fine. I'll take Mayo at his word. Or the joke in the spirit in which it was intended. 

My only point is that we're seeing an entirely new philosophy at work here. One that reflects the head coach, his personality, and how he's going to interact with his personnel. 

I don't think I'm telling anyone anything they don't already know when I say I was really, really invested in the old philosophy. Real Pats fans were nearly unanimous on that point. Belichick was only occasionally funny. And probably never cracked a joke at one of his player's expense to the outside world. He saved the biting remarks for the meeting rooms and the practice field. But it worked for him. And we loved him for it. 

That said, I'm all for this. On the theory that if you're going to make a change, make a change. Nobody wants a Belichick impersonator. That's what we have Frank Caliendo for.

And according to one NFL insider, Mayo's method is working:

WEEI - All, or at least many, of those concerns were wiped away with one gritty road win. And one thing was made abundantly clear to Boomer Esiason: Patriots players love playing for Mayo.

        

“The player reaction … tells you all you need to know,” Esiason said Monday during his weekly appearance on The Greg Hill Show. … “I mean, that tells you a lot, that there was internal pressure coming from every which way. …. I do believe that there was a genuine appreciation for the coach in this case, and you could see it, and you could hear it in the players’ postgame interviews. They love their coach, and hopefully that will continue."

No one outside the building can confirm if the first half of that last sentence is correct. Though the results in Cincinnati would be a pretty good indication it is. What we can all agree with is the second half of it. And I think I can speak for everyone when I say what matters isn't the approach. It's whether or not it produces results. I just want Mayo's players to fear how much they love him.