Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots: Matt Groh Talks Draft; Bill O’Brien, Jerod Mayo Discuss the Future

Episode Date: April 20, 2023

As the New England Patriots prepare for the upcoming NFL Draft, their coaching staff is clearly focused on leading their team on the field in 2023. Host Mike D’Abate welcomes Clare ‘ClazzyClare’ Cooper of Pats Propaganda and A Clare Perspective Patriots Podcast to discuss the remarks made by offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien and linebackers coach Jerod Mayo. Mike also gives his thoughts on the Draft strategy of Director of Player Personnel Matt Groh.Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-patriots-daily-podcast-on-the-new-england/id1140512627Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFmwg3WbfxAU3tR5Ve?si=k196wH-yRqifUcQQz8SjIQStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-patriotsAnd follow host Mike D’Abate on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans.Twitter: @mdabateNFLSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.Ultimate Football GMTo download the game just visit Ultimate-GM.com or look it up on the app stores. Our listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo LOCKEDON (ALL CAPS) in the game store.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG(CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat(CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wayne Gretzky once said you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. Well, yesterday, New England Patriots Director of Player Personnel Matt Groh said you can't afford to miss on a first-round draft pick. Guess what, folks? They're both right. Stick around. You're about to be locked into the Locked On Patriots podcast. You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful. Thank you once again for making Lockdown Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. And welcome to this midweek episode of Lockdown Patriots, which is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network,

your team every day. So subscribe or follow for free on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts to get the latest episode as soon as it's available. I'm your host, Mike DeBate, and I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated. So please reach out to me and let me know what's on your mind on the bird app on twitter at mdabate nfl and while you're out there showing some love to the twitterverse please be sure to follow the locked on patriots account as well at lo underscore patriots that's fans thank you once again for

joining us here today on the pod especially all of you locked on patriots everydayers those of you locked on Patriots everydayers, those of you who take time out of your busy schedules to spend time with us. Continues to warm my heart. So many of you are starting to identify yourselves as everydayers, whether it be in the YouTube comments, whether it be on Twitter. It always, always warms my heart. You are truly, truly amazing. I'm humbled by your support. I'm so grateful for each and every one of you. And also, I want to give a special welcome, a very special welcome to our new listeners,

our new viewers, those of you who listen occasionally. If you're taking the time to consume Lockdown Patriots in any way, shape, or form, I thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I appreciate all of you. And today, I hope we have what you find to be a tap because the Countess of Clas will be joining me in just a moment and the New England Patriots coaches met the media on Tuesday morning Bill O'Brien, Gerard Mayo, Cam Atchard, Will Lawing and more getting the chance to speak with the media contingent on hand. Now yesterday here on the pod we talked a little bit about Bill O'Brien's media meet yesterday, talked about exactly what he had to say regarding Mac Jones, regarding his

plans going forward for the Patriots offense. Well, we kind of skimmed over that, but we're going to take a deeper look into what Bill had to say today, as well as the eye-opening comments from gerard mayo regarding his future and perhaps the future of bill belichick as well what does it all mean well we're going to be breaking it down here on the pod and joining me is going to be someone who joins me each and every wednesday here on the pod the countess of class herself miss claire classy claire cooper and we're going to break down all of the tantalizing details from yesterday's media meet, so folks stay locked in, because the countess joins me in just a moment. But the assistant coaches were not the only ones meeting with the media on

Tuesday. Director of player personnel Matt Groves spoke with reporters, and as part of his pre-draft schedule, he addressed some of what the Patriots are thinking when it comes to the draft. Now, for any of you thinking that he's going to tip his hand here, no, Matt Groh is definitely the New England Patriot tried and true. He is not going to give you a whole lot of details. But his main message, as you'd expect, centered around the number 14 pick in the 2023 NFL draft. And in a lot of ways, it's an important thing to remember

that the New England Patriots are not going to go into this thinking about which expert is taking who at 14, whether the Patriots should trade down or trade up, depending on what a lot of the national talking heads are saying out there. Right now, Matt Groh and the New England Patriots are focused on what is the best fit for them. It might not be the best fit elsewhere. It also might not be the best fit in terms of what a lot of the analysts are saying. But if the Patriots believe that this is going to be the best way for them to improve the football team, that's exactly what they're going to do. And Matt's quote absolutely bore that out. When he spoke to the media, he said,

you're hoping there at 14, you can get a pretty good player. I'd say throughout the first round, there's an old philosophy. You're taking a player in the first round. You're hoping that player is going to come in and make an impact for you. And that is really, I think, something to really remember here, folks. This has got to be an impact decision. It's got to be an impact player that the Patriots are getting if they're staying with the number 14 pick. Let's face it, drafting in the first round has been a hot button issue for several years now for the New England Patriots. It's been a little while since the Devin McCourty's, the Dante Hightowers, the Chandler Jones's of the world have walked through the gates of Gillette with a number one jersey. Guys like Isaiah Wynn, Malcolm Brown, Sonny Michelle, they weren't awful.

I actually think Sonny was a little bit better than some give him credit for, but again, suspect and definitely subject to your thought process on that as well. It's a subjective subject, but never lived up to expectations. None of those guys did. And actually none of those guys are in New England anymore. Isaiah, obviously a free agent. So Sony, Malcolm Brown, these guys did not stick around for a long period of time. Then you have your Dominique Eastley's, your Nikhil Harry's, just didn't work, plain and simple. Dominique Eastley just unfortunately, injury just kept him from the field. Nikhil Harry, just not a fit, absolutely not a fit, plain and simple. But

I know those of you screaming at your screen or your listening device right now about Mac Jones, it's too early to tell on Mac. As a rookie, he looked like a steal, even at 15. It looked like he was about to really buck that trend for the New England Patriots. Last year, yeah, not so much. Let's see what year three brings. I still have a lot of faith in Mac Jones to break that spell, but ultimately it's going to be determined on how he performs in one year under Bill O'Brien. I'm going to talk about Bill in just a moment. But what's good is that Matt Groh is well aware of this. And this seems to be a situation where he's determined to avoid bringing in another first round bust.

And Matt was very candid in his feelings on the subject. He says, look, I'm pretty sure no one's going into the draft saying, we'll be all right if we screw up on the first round pick. You can't miss on those guys. That's an investment. That's a four or five year investment. It's great to find those free agents, certainly from a cost spending perspective, but you're making a real investment in that guy you're taking in the first round and then in the second and the third rounds as well. So that is not just relying on that first rounder to be the impact player. You're going to spend early round draft capital. You have to make sure that the guys you bring in are Patriots players for a good long while. And under his leadership, last year was his first year kind of leading the pack when it

came to the draft. The Patriots made an interesting selection cole strange uh that was a solid selection by new england but not one that most people were thinking was going to happen murph and i both thought cole strange might end up in a patriots uniform but we didn't think it was going to be in the first round again surprised some people trading down from 21 to 29 and even even though he was taken at 29, a lot of people still felt the Patriots massively overpaid for his services. But this is a role that he's going to continue to play into 2023 and beyond. And the Patriots believed in Cole Strange.

And I think you're going to see why this year. I think you already saw a lot of it last year. Yeah, there was some rookie growing pains and little hiccups here and there, but I think Cole was a solid lineman for this team, and I think he's going to continue to be as the years go on. He definitely has the skill set, and he definitely has the makeup to be a solid O-lineman here in New England. But those guys have a lot of pressure on themselves

to try to perform to that level and matt grow understands this and he's going to select the guy in that round that he feels can handle the load and obviously he felt that cole strange could handle the road the load and he said with that 50-year option on first round guys you better do your homework and make sure you get those guys right from a character perspective from a player perspective. And I was one of the very few, one of the earliest last year to host on these airwaves Cole's coach at University of Chattanooga last year. And he basically came in and told a lot of us that Cole Strange was a solid character guy and that he was going to be the type of coach or the type of player, I should say,

that really is going to endear himself to New England. And I believe you're going to endear himself to New England, and I believe you're going to see that. And Matt Groh understands that this is what is required of him and the Patriots' brass when they go and make that selection at number 14, or whatever happens to be their first selection in the draft. Folks, Matt Groh may keep his own counsel to a certain extent, and if he does need any help, let's face it, who's a better consigliere than Bill Belichick. But what about Bill O'Brien? Well, Matt Groh mentioned Bill O'Brien

as well. He called him, in fact, a, quote, wealth of knowledge and someone who he learns a lot from. And that makes an awful lot of sense. Let's not forget that Bill O'Brien has a direct bead into what's going on within the college ranks. Just a couple of short months ago, he was coaching in college. That type of leadership, that type of input is going to be invaluable to the New England Patriots when they're on the clock next week. So keep a sharp eye on that. And Bill O'Brien's role in this draft could really end up paying dividends for the Patriots, not just this year, but even in a couple of seasons down the line. But what else will Bill O'Brien be tasked with?

Well, to answer that and more, we're going to welcome in the Countess of Class herself, Ms. Claire, Classy Claire Cooper, and we're going to talk about Bill Belichick's staff of assistant coaches with a particularly sharp eye focused on Bill O'Brien and on Gerard Mayo. Folks, you won't want to miss it next. Claire Cooper joins me when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. But first, today's episode is brought to you by our good friends over at FanDuel Sportsbook. Pats fans, grand slams, no hitters, and double plays are back. And there's no better place to get in on the mlb

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LockedOnPodcast.com slash newsletters. Pats fans, it is the midweek, and what would the midweek be here without a visit from our midweek monarch here on Locked On Patriots, columnist extraordinaire from Pats Propaganda and the host of her very own Patriots podcast, one of the great listens anywhere in the Patriots, columnist extraordinaire from Pat's Propaganda and the host of her very own Patriots

podcast, one of the great listens anywhere in the Patriots universe. She is Claire, Clazzy Claire Cooper of Pat's Propaganda and FBC Patriots. Claire, thank you so much for joining me from across the pond. Welcome back to the Midweek Hot Seat, Candice. Oh, well, thank you for having me after like my kind of little week off because life was just too crazy so i apologize for not being here last week i had to kind of have get a hall pass for a week i'm afraid so yeah but back itching to get started itching to be on lockdown patriots again so yeah thank you for having me back well you know what they say claire absence makes the heart grow fonder that's exactly what our listeners are craving. We've got the midweek monarch back here.

The countess of class is back, and we're ready to roll. And, Claire, there's a lot to discuss. There always is in Foxborough when it comes to your New England Patriots, our New England Patriots, and assistant coaches meeting the media for the first time this offseason. Bill O'Brien getting back in front of the microphones um a lot of other coaches as well joe judge adrian clem not you know cam atcher there are a lot of different coaches with a lot to say but i think we'd be remiss if we didn't say that bill o'brien

and gerard mayall were the two stars of the day and that's where we're going to focus our attention here today we'll start with bill o'Brien because obviously Matt Groh also director of player personnel for the New England Patriots spoke with the media at 11 45 on Tuesday morning and had a lot to say about the draft but he also had some interesting things to say about Bill O'Brien and one of the things I teased coming into this segment here earlier on the show was that Matt made it a point a couple of times to say that Bill O'Brien was a wealth of knowledge coming from Alabama, coming into the pro environment, that he's going to lean on him a lot when it comes to the draft. But ultimately, I think Bill O'Brien's impact is going to be what he's going to do with this offense moving forward. Claire,

when you look at Bill's comments from yesterday, you look at the Patriots roster, the moves they made, things of that nature. What was your reaction to what Bill had to say, especially when it comes to the clean slate he's giving everyone in Foxborough? That was exactly what I was going to say when you finished that was,

oh, well, at least it's a clean slate. I know people have really picked out on real specifics but I mean at the end of the day he's just kind of saying what needs to be said to appease the media it's the very first moment that we've heard from these guys since kind of football completed and things like that so you know they've got kind of a semi-script that they have to cover there's very Belichickian things that they say. And the fact that he repeated the clean slate, I mean, yeah, just hit home with everybody of don't ask me about last year.

I wasn't there last year, so I'm not going to be able to comment. So I think, which is very fair. You can't really throw at this guy. What about this? What about that? that he he wasn't in the building granted he hasn't been in the building actually for quite a while so the one thing to come out of this in regards to the clean slate that he you know made a point of he's another individual that is although he's returning to foxborough he's returning to the patriots he said himself everything was different in the building, that kind of thing.

People were different, staff were different. There's a lot that is different now to when Bill O'Brien was last at Gillette sort of thing. So he himself is coming in on a clean slate because, or he needs to, I suppose you could say, because we don't know as fans, as spectators, of what he can do. And there's always that element of himators of what he can do and there's always that element of him internally wondering what he can do with sort of a different staff you know it isn't the same coming in and

there's the other aspect of is Bill Belichick sort of I know we'll talk about Gerard Mayo next sort of thing but just to kind of hint at that is is Bill Belichick taking a little step back I'm not saying he's not getting involved don't get me wrong but it was mentioned and I think it was Nick Fitzy-Stevens said on the Six Rings pod perhaps coach Bill is passing some of the day-to-day stuff mainly over to Jeremiah so I know that we'll talk about that but if that is the case then everything is going to be different for Bill O'Brien because the head coach, even though he's the same, is going to be sort of dealing with things differently or dealing with things less even, that kind of thing. So I think it's quite significant to say a clean slate.

And I think that really is across the board because you've got the case of Bill O'Brien, new, hasn't been in the building for a while, as I just said. You know, yes, he's worked with sort of Matt Jones before, but not in this environment, not after having two years as an NFL quarterback, not going through what he had to go through sort of last season. And then there's, you know, there's different stuff in regards to sort of the role that Gerard Mayer's going to play, that is Joe Judge going to be that special teams coach now, that kind of thing.

There's different factors in regards to that that are going to be different. So, yeah, saying that the slate is clean is a really good thing because it's also more deep than what maybe we initially would look at on the surface. Like I said, sort of saying, you know, don't ask me about last year. There's a lot of other things that can be involved in him with the clean slate with with all the new things as I've just said the one thing that I found oh sorry please no go on

no no no go ahead I was just agreeing I was just agreeing it's so unusual for a man to be agreeing with me now I'm joking I'm joking the one quote that um that O'Brien did say that that I found quite interesting and I think it was I think maybe Phil Perry picked upon this and that's why I think I've heard it a couple of times is every year in the NFL is the same in the way that they're all different and I think that's another good thing to sort of hammer home. Don't look at what Matt Jones did last season because it was very different. Everything was different in the building as far as he's concerned in regards to Patricia and Joe Judge. Even their roles are completely different this year from last year.

So it's yeah, it's a case of it was unfortunate. Maybe it was a bad experiment. He's not going to admit to that, obviously. But there's all these things that we kind of know. So, yeah, this is just another sort of way of saying, clean slate, let's move on. Let's look at what we can build. Let's not look at what we did wrong, what happened.

We know, they know internally, all those members of staff that are in that building now, The head coach all the way down. Know what went wrong because a lot of it was very obvious to us as fans. So they saw the mistakes that they have made. They're smart people. They aren't going to be kind of blinded to to the mistakes that they that was that happened. I mean, we've heard from Robert craft in the past in regards to things like that so you know it's been obvious so they know that these mistakes that they've been made so yeah let's give them the opportunity to wipe that slate clean let's give them the opportunity to

build up from this you know from this i'm gonna say semi-rookie because mac jones i feel like he's only really had one year as a rookie because it does feel like last year was just a bit of a mess for him and it was very unfortunate, that kind of thing. And yeah, maybe he didn't handle it as well as he should, but it just feels like it's unfair to judge anything on really last year because it was just a bit of a mix-up. So, you know, you've got this semi-rookie, you've got really significant pieces retiring.

There's a lot of changes, as has been said in all the sort of the press conferences that we're referring to. There's been a lot of changes under that roof. So there is a lot there to sort of look at and it be a blank page, it be a clean slate, it be sort of, right, let's build. How are we going for 2023 what are we doing and the draft in itself that's another you know that's another good aspect of how to move on is to sort of what they get at the draft and after we've after next after next week when we finally got through the draft and we all come through it on semi unscathed because i know some of us won't be unscathed some of us will be sort of destitute and upset that our guy didn't get taken and i fully appreciate that so when we come out of it it will be just you know embrace the excitement of it's just going to be

where where this team is going to be where this team is going to go and i think that's another thing another that kind of clean slate kind of thing it's look at it with fresh eyes give the team the the chance to to sort of build our expectations up again so yeah I think in all fairness him repeating it and I think I now have repeated it probably about the same amount of times that he did it just gives us the opportunity to start fresh and I think it's good it's just it's like positive reinforcement isn't it really him repeating it kind of thing so hopefully me repeating it gives it positive reinforcement as well so ultimately the long and the short of it even if it's just very literal of you know judge me from here don't look at what was behind look at what is here and

you know that's that's really all that they can ask sort of from us as fans, I guess. No, I think you're absolutely right. Bottom line, I think in the most impactful way that Bill O'Brien is going to make his mark on this team is what he does on the field in play calling. You look at what the Patriots did last year, finishing the bottom in terms of points per game, finishing the bottom or near the bottom. I shouldn't say at the bottom. They're not at the bottom in either of these categories, folks. But when you look at what the Patriots

have had to do and what they had to go through last year and bringing themselves back to where they want to be this year, Bill O'Brien's play calling style is going to be a big part of that. But I think one of the things that gets lost in translation when it comes to what Bill O'Brien's play calling style is going to be a big part of that. But I think one of the things that gets lost in translation when it comes to what Bill O'Brien and the impact he's going to have on this team is what Matt Groh mentioned yesterday is his impact coming from the college game so immediately and bringing that immediate now into the pro realm and not just in terms of the draft. You talk about the scouting acumen that he can bring to the table. Having coached against a lot of these guys that are really big-time prospects. Guys that the Patriots are going to have their eye on. Bill O'Brien has coached against a lot of them. He knows their capabilities. He's coached some of them.

I mean, there are people in that Alabama locker room, either on the offensive side of the ball or the defensive side of the ball, that may end up in a Patriots uniform. Camera too tight. And, folks, I'm keeping my eye on him. That's it. But, anyway, like that drop in, Claire. But, in any case, it's kind of like subliminal messaging here on Locked On Patriots.

But, bottom line, I think in so many ways what Bill is going to do is also bring some of that collegiate play calling style that we haven't seen a whole lot of here in New England tried to do it last year under Matt Patricia just didn't work out it just they didn't have the personnel and to be totally honest with you I don't think they had the coach with the strong suit enough to be able to enact those kind of plays not to say Matt is a bad coach it's just he was the wrong coach for that type of environment and it just didn't work out so bill o'brien coming in does give you not only the college wealth of being able to scout a lot of the guys you're going to see in this draft incorporate that into the type of offense you

want to run here in new england it's also the play style and again if mac jones has a little bit of a hand in that we've seen him run that very efficiently in Alabama. So good stuff, Claire. Really, really good stuff. Really insightful. And always, always appreciate you coming on. We missed you here last week. We missed your wisdom in council, Thomas.

We definitely did. Oh, thank you. That's so nice. And I just wanted to add, if we go with the subliminal messaging, if we go with let's just shout it out so it's in the universe, how about like Michael Mayer? Because that's like, I know he's not of Alabama, but that's more the subliminal message I want to get out there. Draft Mayer kind of thing.

Or Laporta. That one's a good one. Shoemaker. That's another good one. Let's throw all those out there. See one of those sticks. Absolutely. On behind the scenes on Lockdown Patriots next week, Claire's subliminal tight-endage messaging to all of you out there in the Twitterverse

or in the YouTubeverse or wherever you happen to be consuming your podcasts, Spotify, Apple Podcasts. Yeah, she's got different tricks of the trade for every one of our platforms, folks. So stay tuned for that. No, all kidding aside, we are breaking off the Wisdom in Council meter right now here with the Countess of Clasher, herself, Ms. Claire Classey. Claire Cooper, weire cooper we're not done yet folks because in just a moment we're going to flip the script a little bit we're going to talk about the defensive side of the ball because gerard mayo inside linebackers coach a lot of people thought he'd be assistant head coach we heard an awful lot

maybe defensive coordinator gerard's not too concerned with titles, but what he is concerned with right now is making sure his team is ready to build upon solid defensive output in 2022 for the 2023 season. The Countess and I are going to discuss that and what it means for Mayo's future and maybe what it means for Bill Belichick's future in just a moment when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Patriots fans, the illustrious Claire, classy Claire Cooper of Pats Propaganda and FPC Patriots joins me here today. Claire, it's always an honor when you join me. We've already talked a lot about the impact that Bill O'Brien may have on this offense, on this Patriots team, his comments from Tuesday and what they mean for

the Patriots moving forward but Bill wasn't the only one to get in front of a microphone in front of the media contingent present in Foxborough on Tuesday Gerard Mayo inside linebackers coach for the New England Patriots had some things to say to the adoring public and throughout the offseason we've been hearing a lot about Gerrard's contract extension whether that meant that he was going to end up in you know New England being the assistant head coach the defensive coordinator we heard an awful lot about Gerrard and what his future was going to be but Gerrard kind of set the record straight on a lot of it yesterday and was very pointed in his comments we know he's not really interested in job titles what he is interested is in the present and he definitely has an eye on his future Claire when you read or had to absorb

what Gerard had to say yesterday what are your thoughts on this are we looking potentially at a guy that's going to be with this organization for a long while well i kind of think that that's i mean that's how it feels to me obviously everything can be so different the one thing that that he did say that i wanted to kind of point out when i remember is that new england never has roles he's focused on growth and it's very fluid and i quite liked that because he's kind of basically saying or I interpret him saying sorry that's probably how I should word it is don't get hung up on what it says on the business card if he ever gets his business cards of course don't get so hung up on that it's what's important is the work that they put in behind the scenes and they don't need a label to work hard

and to kind of like be the best at their job in New England and I think that's key that's I think that's a very patrioty mantra I think mantra sorry I think that's sort of how it works and I don't know if that's why New England feels a bit different I don't know I'm going to be biased because I'm a Patriots fan so it is a little bit difficult sometimes but I mean for me it felt like this collective I think it kind of goes back to when he signed, when he signed that extension and they put out the press release and it was like, this is a bit unusual that they're putting this out there, that they're doing this. That felt like an evolvement of the way that they were doing things. And I mean, he said that he was, what was it? He was involved in the interviewing in regards to the OC kind of thing.

And he said that he's done many different things this offseason. He was involved in the interviews and he wants to be in the war room. He also joked about, yeah, tell Bill I'll be in, you know, when when it comes to the draft, I'll be there sort of thing. I want to be there, that kind kind of thing so his enthusiasm to work with in New England to to do all the jobs that they you know they're going to let him do if you like is good and it does make it does give that sense of with what he's saying with what management kind of put out in that way of it does it does kind of between the lines look like this is the guy that we're hoping is the next head coach this is the chap that we believe you know he comes from being being a Patriots player

he comes from the Patriots way you know he's a defense guy who's good that's a head coach at the moment for the New England Patriots who was a defense Oh, isn't that a coincidence? Bill Belichick was as well. Funny how that works. It's funny how that works. Yeah, sorry, joking. But yeah, I mean, as I mentioned in the previous segment with regards to what Fitzy mentioned on the six-team spot, I know other people are going to be talking about it as well. That was just the last place that I heard of it

before we came on here. Maybe it does look like that Bill is feeding off some of the jobs and that's why Mayo hasn't got a rigid title, because his duties are going to be fluid. As Bill Belichick kind of decides where he wants to do, how much he wants to pull back, if at all. We may be speculating to something that's completely incorrect and fully appreciate that.

But it may be that those sorts of things are fluid. Don't forget, it's still sort of like the off-season. They're still working out what's going on. They're still not a full roster, if you like, because players are going to be drafted. There's still lots of kind of slices of pie to pass around and that kind of thing, and to really see where everybody's going to be sitting.

So it does feel a little bit early to to pin him down to that anyway I think as long as come September they all know what they're doing for me that really seems the most important thing regardless of what they want to call themselves if Gerard Mayall wants to have the title on his business card as hype poobah then that's fine I'm really not as long as he's doing the job that he needs to do then you know I know, I think for me, that feels what is the key. But I know obviously as media, it's things to discuss. It's what's out there at the moment. But yeah, he said, Mayo said about, he lives Boston.

He kind of sort of grew up here now. He sort of said he alluded to because he's been in Boston for many years. His family's there. It's where he wants to be and I think that's key because I think in New England he's wanted he's you know he is a fan favorite they do we do as fans get this kind of relationship with players because you cheer for them as you watch them and for that player to then develop into a coach of the team I I think it has a quite significant emotional connection in that regard. You know, when a guy just comes in as a coach, he's just a guy just coming in as a coach.

And don't get me wrong, you still get that emotional attachment if that's the sort of fan you are, of course. But you get that attachment still. But I think with regards to being a player, there's always that it feels like it's more ingrained in the individual because he played in, you know, in the franchise. He played in the building. He was part of what built the Patriots. It's nice to have bricks that are kind of from further down the wall, helping to build the next layer kind of thing so I think that's key as fans um which is why there is this maybe collective sigh of relief with him saying yeah this is kind of where I want to be

and I want to be involved in in all these different things it's like he's saying all the right things for us to sort of believe that he's going to be the next head coach now he may just be saying all the right things and I'm not naive to that completely at all um but as a fan and as for all the reasons that I just mentioned you do just want to think well you know you maybe we're getting inklings maybe the Patriots are being a little bit different and giving us a bit more information now so maybe these hints that he's going to be the head coach in a few years in you know he sort of said that he's maybe not ready for head coach yet but in a few years and it's like well in a few years is probably when Bill Belichick is going to be retiring so that though the timelines are

starting to add up the conspiracy theory the big board with all the pieces of cord and the wires and then that matches to that and that kind of that kind of crazy meme or gif that you see on social media I think you say you know really resonates with this at the moment so yeah it's just it feels like a lot of positive have come from it's very early like I said in the previous segment it is so early it is the beginning of it's not even the beginning of the season is it it's kind of the beginning of the nearly season it's the beginning of like nearly the draft and things like this it It's still sort of off season. And even though we never really have an off season anymore, it doesn't feel like anyway.

But yeah, for me, it's just good stuff, I guess. It is. It really is good stuff. And I think everybody that has been around Gerard before, that has seen him play, that has covered him play, and that has covered him as a coach, knows that lip service is not something this guy is used to giving. He's not that type of guy.

Even when he did in-studio analysis work for NBC Sports Boston, this was always a guy that gave you an honest opinion, whether it was good, bad, or indifferent. So I think he's being very forthcoming. I think he's being very honest in his assessment. He says, this is where I want to be. The one thing that really makes me believe that he believes he's in the best position to grow as a coach is when he says, I feel like we do it right here. And that to me, I think is the key takeaway from Gerard Mayo's press conference or press comments from Tuesday, more so than anything

else, because saying that I feel like we do it right here. He had his opportunities. He had the opportunity to interview with both the Carolina Panthers and the Cleveland Browns, turn them both down and he turned them both down very early in the process. And that tells me he knew this is where he wanted to be, not just because he is comfortable in Boston. And I do believe that is part of it,

especially when it comes to family ties, that is so important for players. I don't think that is publicized enough as a reason why players make the decisions that they do, but ultimately he feels that this is the best option for him to be able to move forward. And that's his goal folks. When he was asked very bluntly, do you still want to be a head coach in this league? Absolutely. 100%. He did not hesitate. He said it with a purpose that was with conviction. So when you hear something like that from a guy, you know, he's razor focused on being

able to move forward and do what he needs to do to gain the skills to be a head coach. He did follow that up. I'm confident in the plan that the Patriots put together for my development and that shows an awful lot of confidence in robert craft in bill belichick and all of the coaches that are uh surrounding him and you hear this continuously in new england yeah there are a few disgruntled expats out there that are going to hit social media every time a player is available and oh you don't want to play for bill well you, I'll take, we're going to take the high road here on Lockdown Patriots. We're just going to let those sit. But I always say, consider the source and think about where that's coming from and then

make your own determination as to whether or not you believe those opinions are valid. The majority of expatriates will come out and tell you that this is a place where they do things right. And Gerard May mail absolutely knows that and i'm looking forward to seeing the growth that we're going to look at this year from him because even though he doesn't have like you said that title although i really think that hypobar should be on the list of titles that should be given out in foxborough i really like that claire by the way i think i'm gonna have business cards printed up with that um but uh and you know sounds quite good as well yeah that's good yes absolutely i love that you had the assistant in there i love that i love that that was the drop in there but

when gerard basically says about his title he says you know i'm not exactly sure as far as the role that's a bill belichick question he's towing the company line folks but said, the role thing is not important to me as long as I'm growing. That's what I'm focused on. I'll be working with the linebackers, working with the defense, working to move forward. So yes, can you interpret that by saying, yeah, he has aspirations. He wants to learn how to be a head coach. Yes. But if he's chasing those aspirations, it means that you're serious about winning football games. You're serious about gaining knowledge. That's never a bad thing.

I always liken it to when people talk about Bill Belichick chasing Don Shula's record. Oh, that's all he wants. He just wants to win so he can chase Don Shula's record. Well, in order to get that record, you have to win games. I never understood how that's a negative to Bill Belichick. If he's chasing a record, it means he is motivated to make sure that his team wins as much as possible. That's what I see out of Gerard Mayo. So yeah, I think just incredibly, you know, good insight, incredibly

good, you know, background here, Claire, thank you so much. I am going to put you on the hot seat though before we leave your percentage percentage from a zero to 100 your thoughts right now this is just opinion i'm not putting you technically on the hot seat but your opinion right now your percentage on how much uh is gerard mayo going to be the next head coach of this team when Bill Belichick retires oh yeah I think I'm really high up there at like the 95 percent mark thinking from what's happening now from the way that it's being said from what's coming out I'm nearly like convinced completely but and you never want to go 100 because you want to give yourself that little bit of wiggle room but but to be fair yeah like I said he may I mean you did make a great point of he's not much of a

kind of you know a say what he's supposed to say kind of guy he says it how it is kind of thing and that i think is even more key to what he was saying on tuesday just really indicates that he wants to be a head coach he wants to be a success but he loves it in new england obviously i'm paraphrasing i'm just squashing it all together but really if you if you add all those things together in a couple of years in new england you know it just it just feels like he's just trying to say to us yeah that's where i want to be now there's always that element of it might not be what kind of, what results of what the ownership want in a few years.

A lot can happen in a few years. A lot of things can change. So there's always that aspect of, so that's why there's that 5% there, that little bit of wiggle room. But, yeah, I really hope that the, yeah, wouldn't it be great? It's one of those things, and it sounds really lame, but a great story as well. You know, Patriot, Patriot linebacker, Jared Mayo,

moves up the ranks, da-da-da-da, and then becomes head coach. Fan favorite. Fans are going to love it. I'm going to eat it with a spoon. They will, without any question about it. And you know what? Listening to Gerard yesterday, and unfortunately, I didn't have the good fortune to be in Gillette yesterdayette yesterday due to a personal commitment i wasn't able to make it

up there but uh just hearing what he had to say and absorbing it firsthand and or secondhand in this case uh sounded very belichickian uh in the way he was handling the media and the way he was giving them the information he always maintains that gerard essence, but in terms of just not giving the press everything they asked for, but giving them exactly what they need. Yeah, he's taking Bill Belichick courses in that. He's getting a PhD in learning how to deal with the media. And that, to me, says that he might be getting a little extra tutelage in that department. Claire, what can I say? I thank you so much for lightening the load here

on Lockdown Patriots, bringing your wisdom and counsel back. I totally missed you, and we did miss you last week, folks, but you'll be back here again next week, no question about it. Before I let you go, please let everyone know where they can find you, interact with you, and you've got some exciting stuff coming out, not only from Mass Propag's propaganda but also for a clear perspective in time for the draft floor is yours oh well thank you so much and for those who have missed me oh thank you so much that's so good that's so so lovely you can find me on the bird app down there as we all know yes the exciting news um if you haven't seen go over to patspropaganda.com where my articles where my game recaps and things that have always been there has been the very first pats propaganda mock draft off yes tom shulmelis and myself have pitted against each other in our mock drafts okay it's just a bit of fun folks but yes please go

over there is a vote that is open until i believe this evening wednesday evening or it might even be thursday morning i can't quite, no, Thursday evening. Yeah, Thursday evening, sorry, apologies. Yeah, there is a vote open. So have some fun, have a look and see what we've put out there on patspropaganda.com. Go over to Twitter and vote for either Tom's or myself's, whichever draft that you would kind of prefer

that you would like from the pages. I know Tom's going to win because of a certain way that I went so no misconceptions there but please yeah go over to patspropaganda.com and keep your eyes out on patspropaganda.com it's very difficult to say quickly um because yes new stuff will be coming out as a man especially now that the season is sort of beginning to start back up again so yeah tom and i are working hard behind the scenes to kind of bring you sort of content in that regard so please go and have a bit of fun with that and keep your ears and eyes peeled because a clear perspective the pre-draft show should be hitting your airwaves somewhere in the region of i think

about friday so in good time for the weekend um and that will be kind of like a breakdown of sort of what i think what i've been thinking what i like it won't be all tight ends like absolutely 100 promise you folks it will not all be tight ends there will only be a bit I will restrict myself I will because I am hoping to go over onto the patsfans.com podcast this evening and talk tight ends because I know they're doing draft prospects so some of my tight endage will have been exhausted so I'll do that this evening so it won't be full of tight ends it will just be about prospects and I've asked for listeners questions as well. So if you go over to the bird app,

if you go on Twitter, you'll see some tweets around for the, for the poll for Patsy Wakanda. And also for my request for questions for a clear perspective that I'll be recording on Thursday, that will be a pre-draft. So yes, please just keep your eyes and ears peeled because I am trying to put the

content out there as best I can. And I hope you guys are all enjoying it. Absolutely. And, folks, when I tell you definitely when Claire puts voice to microphone, pen to paper, definitely appointment reading, appointment viewing, appointment listening, definitely check it out because you will be more informed and more entertained. And really, what more can you ask for in sports? It's just the best there is on both sides and I'm laying odds on over under as to how many times Ryan Izzo's name gets mentioned over the course of those shows.

So folks definitely drop us a line in the, in the other notes below and ask, you know, let's let us know what you feel could be a reasonable number on that. Just remember that I don't count very well. So don't keep the numbers too high. Claire, always an honor, always a pleasure. We look forward to doing this again next week.

But folks, once again, thank all of you. All of you every day out there in Lockdown Patriots land to take time out of your busy schedules each and every day to spend with us here on the pod. We couldn't do this without you. And we really, I appreciate you from the bottom of my heart. We all do here at Lockdown Patriots, so thank you very much. And don't forget to tune in tomorrow here on Lockdown when the mock drafts take on a little bit of a new light.

I'm going to be putting myself on the hot seat a little bit. I'm going to put my own mock draft out there and also let you know that our Lockdown NFL crew, all of my esteemed colleagues, took part in a mock draft recently. Who did I select for the New England Patriots at number 14? Or did I even make a selection at number 14? You're going to want to tune in and find out what all of our hosts did as well here tomorrow on Locked On Patriots. But in the meantime, please continue to stay safe and stay well and be the change you wish to see in the world. On behalf of the illustrious

Claire, Classy Claire Cooper, I'm Mike DeBate. Take care, folks. Have a great day and we'll see you tomorrow right here on Lockdown Patriots.