Ex-Patriots staffer criticized Jerod Mayo, Robert Kraft for perceived shots at Bill Belichick

"Mayo, he's programmed to blame Bill for everything."

A pair of comments made by Jerod Mayo and Robert Kraft didn’t sit well with someone close to Bill Belichick.

Former Patriots executive Mike Lombardi, who co-hosts a podcast with Belichick, ripped into Mayo, Kraft, and the organization after recent criticism made about New England’s former head coach. In an appearance on “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” Lombardi took aim at Mayo for several things, from perceived digs at Belichick to the way he wears his cap during games.

“Mayo, he’s programmed to blame Bill for everything,” said Lombardi, who also worked for the Patriots as an assistant on the coaching staff from 2014-16. “He’s just programmed, even though he signed every single player back. Like, wait a minute, this is your team.”

Mayo hasn’t directly called out his predecessor by name and cast blame on him for the team’s 1-5 start. But when he was asked during an appearance on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” this week why the roster was in bad shape, Mayo said, “You tell me. I’m not going there.”

Some perceived that comment from Mayo as a shot at Belichick. Whether Mayo was pointing the finger at Belichick, the team is among one of the worst in the league for a second straight year. After going 4-13 last year with an offense that ranked 31st in yards and scoring, they’re toward the bottom of the league in offense again (30th in yards). However, their defense has been a bit worse this year, giving up roughly 58 more yards per game to rank 25th in the league.

As Lombardi pointed out that the “defense has gotten worse,” he believes the Patriots aren’t heading in the right direction, mentioning the comments wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk made in response to what Mayo said about the rookie’s drops.

“They’re not getting better,” Lombardi said. “They were good opening day and they’ve gotten progressively worse. Nobody talks about it because everybody’s focused on the quarterback. How about Polk? He comes out today with Mayo saying he needs mental help. Polk was like, ‘What are you talking about? I’m fine mentally. My hands are good.’ He came out and complained.”

Lombardi also questioned Mayo’s coaching background as he only served as a positional coach for five seasons before being promoted in January.

“These guys are getting head coaching jobs because they’re ex-players,” Lombardi said. “We’re not the NBA. It’s a bigger enterprise than managing eight or seven players. It’s a different world. It’s a more complex game. It’s chess on grass. I’m not dismissing the NBA coaches because that’s a hard job. In the NBA, you play offense and defense. So, you know everything about the game. You know the game completely.

“Mayo, he could pretend he knows offense. He doesn’t know any techniques of what the line does. He doesn’t know the receivers. He knows what the plays are. He doesn’t know the fundamentals and techniques. He doesn’t know the whole game. How could he? He’s only been coaching five years.”

When the Patriots extended Mayo during the 2023 offseason, they reportedly included a head coach-in-waiting clause in his contract. More recently, Kraft said that he knew Mayo would be Belichick’s successor five years ago during a trip to Israel. Lombardi said that Mayo “was late for staff meetings because he was meeting with Kraft.”

“Everyone knew [Mayo would replace Belichick],” Lombardi said. “It’s all just a charade.”

Lombardi made more pointed comments at Kraft during an appearance on Friday’s episode of NESN’s “Foxboro Rush” podcast after the Patriots owner explained why he had to “fire” Belichick after the 2023 season earlier this week.

“[Kraft] was saying he couldn’t trust Bill anymore, but he has six Super Bowl trophies in his case,” Lombardi said on “Foxboro Rush.” “I don’t know where else you get trust from. It’s all about trying to discredit the former coach who won six Super Bowls and build a new program. … Bill’s not in the building anymore, so when you sign players back you can’t blame him for what’s going on. I think that’s talking out of both sides of your mouth.

“It’s really a cop-out,” Lombardi added. “When are they going to stop blaming Bill for everything that goes wrong? I know when, when they start to win, because it will be all on them.”

In an appearance on “The Breakfast Club,” Kraft said that he had given Belichick “so much power” and that he should’ve “had some checks and balances.”

“He had earned that right,” Kraft said. “But then the results weren’t there and if you’re in the sports business you win or you lose, there’s no gray and I hate losing.”

Kraft’s recent remarks on Belichick came after there were multiple developments over the offseason that caused the belief that there was friction between the two. Some believed that the docuseries “The Dynasty: New England Patriots” was unfair to Belichick and kind to Kraft. Kraft also warned Falcons owner Arthur Blank to not trust Belichick during the coach’s interview process with the team this offseason, ESPN previously reported.

Lombardi also took a shot at Patriots president Jonathan Kraft and executive vice president of football business Robyn Glaser, who reportedly have gained more influence within the Patriots’ organization following Belichick’s departure.

“They’ve got Jonathan there to help handle it. They’ve got Robyn Glaser there to help handle it,” Lombardi said on “The Bill Simmons Podcast.” “We’ll see. They’re all so preoccupied with attacking Bill like the guy won six Super Bowls for you. At what point do you stop attacking the guy?”