Mayo sets precedent with comments on Patriots contract disputes

Mayo sets precedent with comments on Patriots contract disputes originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston

For the past 24 years, the marching orders for Bill Belichick’s players in New England have been clear: Focus only on what you can control and don’t create unnecessary distractions.

It’s safe to say those marching orders changed under Jerod Mayo.

This became obvious during the first week of training camp, where Patriots star pass rusher Matthew Judon publicly expressed his desire for a new contract on Wednesday and defensive tackle Davon Godchaux essentially declared that he is undervalued on Friday.

Both players’ comments likely would have been grounds for discipline in the Belichick Era. But Mayo seem to have a very different philosophy about players speaking their minds.

“No, no. I’m fine with it. I don’t want to put a limit on it,” Mayo said Friday at Patriots training camp, when our Phil Perry asked Mayo if he thought Judon’s comments about his contract hurt those who were in the lead. positions like Mayo and de facto general manager Eliot Wolf.

“If the guy feels a certain way, he has the privilege of coming here and telling you how he feels. here and says, ‘You know what, I hate Coach Jerod’ or ‘I hate Mayo.’ That’s how they feel and I respect that.”

Translation: Patriots players are free to speak their minds, even if it means publicly airing grievances about their contracts or criticizing their head coach.

This is essentially a 180 in Belichick’s approach to media relations, but it’s not a surprising stance for Mayo to take as a former Patriots player and captain who was a respected member of New England’s locker room. In fact, the 38-year-old head coach sees a benefit in transparency with the media.

“I know we want to keep as many things in-house as possible, but there will be times when they come here and express themselves. I think it’s good,” Mayo said. “Look, they listen to the interview here and I listen to their interviews too. I’m not talking to you, I’m talking to the players, actually.

“As the season progresses, I want the relationship with the media, from the coach’s point of view and also from the player’s point of view, to be a good relationship. I’m not saying to write all positive articles. what you get paid for.”

The Patriots have won six Super Bowls and nine AFC titles with Belichick’s iron-fisted approach, and the jury is still out on how Mayo’s “anything goes” philosophy will impact the team positively or negatively. But there’s no doubt things will be different in Foxboro with Mayo calling the shots.