Jerod Mayo gives his first assessment of Mac Jones and the quarterback's leadership

FOXBORO -- It hasn't even been a week since Jerod Mayo took over as head coach of the New England Patriots, but he's already providing a new voice for the franchise. And with that voice, Mayo has no problem saying what's on his mind.

That was the case Monday morning throughout Mayo's first chat with WEEI as head coach of the Patriots. Sliding into Belichick's usual slot on the Boston radio airwaves, Mayo said that the Patriots were going to spend money this offseason -- or as he put it, "burn some cash." That's not something New England fans would ever hear out of the former boss.

Mayo also opened up on quarterback Mac Jones, whose future with the team is in question after a disappointing season that saw Jones get benched for good by December. Mayo began talking about leaders on the team, mentioning Matthew Slater, Deatrich Wise, and Ja'Whuan Bentley, before saying that the team needs leadership out of the quarterback position.

"The quarterback has to have some type of leadership ability, and hopefully, we can get to that point," Mayo said before changing gears a bit. 

"David Andrews, great leader on the offensive side of the ball as well. Hunter Henry, great leader on the offensive side of the ball. But what I will say is, it's hard to lead through tough times and that's when you really start to see people change," Mayo continued. "You really start to see the attitudes change, people getting in small huddles and things like that. And that's when people are looking for a leader. When everything is not going right, they're looking for a leader. 

"When you're winning games, it's easy. 'Like, come on guys, family on three -- 1 , 2, 3 family.' Then when you go on a six-game losing streak, you're like, 'forget it,'" said Mayo.

Mayo was then asked specifically if he believes that Jones struggled with his leadership last season.

"I'm not saying that," answered Mayo. "What I will say is, when I think about Mac, he obviously has talent. And, once again, we're in the evaluation phase. I will say, with that, the confidence of a player is very fragile, especially these players now. Confidence goes a long way, and honestly, as we continue to evaluate as a coaching staff, we'll see."

Jones has remained in the area for his offseason training and was one of the players at Mayo's introduction last week. He's signed through next season but chances are the Patriots will be drafting a new quarterback with the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Jones was seen as a potential franchise QB after the Patriots drafted him 15th overall in 2021, and he put together a solid rookie season that helped the Patriots make the playoffs. But he struggled in 2022 with Matt Patricia and Joe Judge running the offense, and then again with Bill O'Brien running that side of the ball in 2023. Since looking serviceable throughout his rookie campaign, Jones has taken several steps back over the last two years.

When asked Monday if the franchise has let Jones down when it comes to building up the QB's confidence, Mayo said that Jones is not blameless in that equation. But he also added that the offensive struggles of the 2023 Patriots did not fall squarely on the quarterback's shoulders.

"The thing I would say is, if you were to ask Mac Jones, he made mistakes along the way as well," Mayo said.  "Coaching staff, we made mistakes along the way as well, and I'm not just talking about the offensive coaching staff. One thing about Mac, everybody talks to Mac. Special teams, defensive players, offensive players, we were trying to help him with that confidence. There's enough blame to go around."

No matter who is the quarterback of the Patriots next season, Mayo said it's important that the team has a shared vision or they will falter again.

"One thing I took from Coach Belichick is that players win games, and coaches lose games. We can talk all we want to about scheme, but if you don't have players that have a shared vision and are on the same page, it's going to be hard to score points," he said.