The New England Patriots‘ defense was all but nonexistent on Saturday, January 15 in the team’s disastrous 47-17 AFC Wild Card loss to the Buffalo Bills.
The Bills’ offense scored on all seven of its possessions as Josh Allen and company routinely had their way against the Patriots’ defense, a trend dating back to the teams’ Week 16 meeting in Foxborough.
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New England’s inability to find a solution for the Bills’ offensive attack left many frustrated with a defense that had allowed the fewest total points in the regular season.
One analyst, Grunt Talks’ Bobby Thompson, openly called for Bill Belichick to strip his son and current outside linebackers coach, Steve Belichick, of his defensive play-calling duties.
Stephen Belichick after tonight needs to be relieved of his playcalling duties. This is just long overdue
It’s a tough ask for a father to demote their child, but there must be some accountability for what turned out to be an unacceptable performance by a unit that had been seen as a strength of the team during the regular season.
While not many coaching staffs feature an outside linebackers coach in a prominent play-calling role, the elder Belichick acknowledged as much following New England’s Week 4 loss to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“We tried to mix it up on him,” Belichick told WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” on October 4. “I think Steve did a great job of that with the defensive play-calling, and the players played hard, played well.
The Patriots hadn’t stopped the run very well all season, allowing 4.5 yards per carry in 2021, tied for the 22nd-worst mark in the NFL. That continued with the Bills running for 174 yards on just 29 carries, an average of 6.0 yards per attempt thanks in large part to the scrambling of Allen.
Buffalo’s dynamic young quarterback ran for 66 yards on six carries as the Patriots failed to contain the large and limber signal-caller. The question is: How far-reaching will the impact of this lopsided loss be within the Patriots’ organization and how will it affect the team’s potential candidates for a head coaching opportunity?
Will Loss Impact Jerod Mayo’s Chances of Landing a Head Coaching Job?
Patriots defensive assistant Jerod Mayo, a former All-Pro linebacker with the team, is once again a candidate for a head coaching opportunity in 2022, including the Denver Broncos’ vacancy.
Because his specialty is on the defensive side of the ball, this isn’t exactly the performance he would have wanted to precede an interview for a job. However, his role in preparing the Patriots’ defensive players for the game is unclear.
The Patriots don’t have anyone officially in the defensive coordinator position, but it is believed Steve Belichick is the man responsible for defensive play-calling. This is something that could help Mayo as he may not carry the full weight of the judgment that is coming on the heels of the team’s worst defensive effort since they lost 46-10 to the Chicago Bears in the 1987 Super Bowl.
Hopefully, Mayo will be evaluated for what he can bring to an organization if given the keys to the entire operation and not in a partial role.
Is it Time for the Patriots to Hire a Defensive Coordinator?
This concept brings up a key question for the Patriots’ future: Is it time to appoint a formal defensive coordinator? The Patriots haven’t had anyone function in that role since Matt Patricia from 2012 to 2017.
The Patriots played in three Super Bowls during that time period–winning two–and reached at least the AFC Championship game in all of those years.
That is quite the run and perhaps it provides some encouragement to add another member with the definitive title to the team’s coaching staff.
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NFL Analyst Calls for Patriots Assistant to Be Stripped of Duties