Former Patriots assistant rips Jerod Mayo for perceived Bill Belichick shot

First-year New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo seemed to take a shot at former Patriots coach/czar Bill Belichick when Mayo suggested earlier this week he wasn't responsible for the state of New England's roster.

During an appearance on the latest edition of NESN’s "Foxboro Rush" podcast, former Patriots assistant to the coaching staff Michael Lombardi responded to Mayo's comment.

"[Patriots owner Robert Kraft] does the same thing, too," Lombardi explained. "He was saying he couldn’t trust Bill anymore, but he has six Super Bowl trophies in his case. 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 become clear since this past January that Kraft somewhat regrets giving Belichick "full control over everything" even though the living legend guided the Patriots to six Super Bowl championships from 2000 through February 2019. That may or may not have to do with Belichick's treatment of Tom Brady, which resulted in the future Hall of Fame quarterback leaving New England as a free agent in March 2020.

Without Brady, Belichick's Patriots missed the playoffs three times over four years and failed to notch a single postseason victory before Kraft decided a change was needed. With that said , New England executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf would always need more than a single offseason to rebuild a roster lacking talent at multiple positions on offense and defense.

"It’s really a cop-out," Lombardi added about Mayo's comment. "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."

Belichick's inability to land a long-term replacement for Brady from 2020 through the summer of 2023 may be the biggest reason the coach spends the ongoing season as a media personality rather than on the sidelines during games. Lombardi may not like it, but Belichick deserves plenty of blame for the fact that the 1-5 Patriots may only win a couple more games before Week 18 wraps up.