The first half of the 2024 regular season was not particularly kind to the New England Patriots. The team of first-year head coach Jerod Mayo had to face all sorts of challenges between player availability, internal rumblings, and performance on the field.
Hanging over his and the rest of the team’s heads, meanwhile, is the Sword of Damocles that is a 2-7 record. As one of the worst teams in the NFL so far this season, the Patriots appear headed toward a top-five selection in the draft for a second straight year.
While such a pick would be a valuable asset for the rebuilding franchise, the Patriots are not in the business of tanking for draft position: they want to use the back nine of the season to get better, and preferably win some more games. In order to do that, however, the team needs to start getting its act together both on the field and the sidelines.
Mayo knows that, hence why he was preaching a simple message in a team meeting on Wednesday. It’s all about urgency.
“My message to the team today is really just about a sense of urgency,” he explained. “A sense of urgency in everything that we do.”
Team captain Hunter Henry echoed the message.
“You’re always going to have a sense of urgency in this league. Where we are as a team, we need that desperately from everybody,” Henry said. “Starts with myself, and starts with this week of practice — trying to attack this week head-on.”
The Patriots starting to show some urgency now might be too little to late to save their 2024 campaign. Their chances of making the playoff are virtually zero at this point in time, and a third straight losing season is only two more defeats away.
Still, Mayo knows that improvement — in whichever form — will be key as far as salvaging the season is concerned. That includes his hand-picked coaching staff.
“We all have to get better. It starts with me, and it then starts with the coaches, and that’s part of coming together as a staff,” he said.
“We all want to win games, and we need to win games now. I think the sense of urgency message wasn’t just for the players; it’s also for the coaches. Nothing in this world, no matter who you are, myself included, is guaranteed.”
Unless the Patriots start to completely disintegrate over their final eight games, Mayo should be expected back in 2025. Whether the same holds true for some of his assistants, let alone players, remains to be seem.
If the organization wants to use 2024 as a building block for the future, however, showing some urgency will be a must. It starts this week against the Chicago Bears.
