Felger: Mayo Hiring is Underwhelming
It’s an Agenda Free Friday on Felger and Mazz but really the we all have agendas today. Felger is underwhelmed about the Patriots hiring Jerod Mayo, Mazz doesn’t like that the Kraft’s want “their team” back and Murray, doesn’t love how the NBA schedules these marquee match ups.
LISTEN:
Felger: I’ll just go first since the Mayo news is there. It’s completely underwhelming, completely underwhelming. And, uh, as a Patriot fan, I’d have a problem with the process. More than anything, it sounds like a jump all over Jerod Mayo. This is. I like to keep it independent of the analysis of Mayo, because I’ve heard nothing but good things and I like them. My thought on him is, I don’t know. I don’t know about Mayo. But for Pete’s sake, what was so urgent about keeping Jerod Mayo off the market last year? Were you? You had to promise him the job in writing to keep him. And this is why you were able to make this announcement so soon. This is a technicality that I did not know about or I had forgotten about. And that is, you do not need to go through the Rooney Rule whether you’re hiring a person of color or not. You do not need to go through the Rooney Rule or any of the requirements in the hiring process. If you promise in writing someone else the job, whether they’re black, white, or anywhere in between. If you promised someone the job, put it in writing and file it with the league. Before the season. You don’t have to go through a process. You can just go right to the guy. Now you can back out from the guy. But if you go to that guy, if he is indeed your choice, you can just name him and you don’t need to interview anybody. And that’s what the Patriots are doing. And I’m going to use some sarcasm here. Not like they would need to I don’t know. Go find the most valuable the most qualified candidate. Get some outside opinions outside voices. Take a look at what’s going on in the league. Not that they need that. Why would they want to do that? Why would they really want to do a extensive search and talk to a lot of people and educate themselves on who is out there and what they believe in? Take a, uh, take a, uh, a serious, measured approach to finding the best guy. Why would they want to do that? Let’s just hand it off to Bill Belichick’s linebackers coach, who five years ago. Was doing TV with Tom E Curran. That sounds like a great plan. You got to keep that guy off the market. I think it’s ridiculous. Uh, I think it’s short sighted. I think it’s. I don’t know, I’ll come up with some adjectives for you. Not good enough. Good lord that that’s the plan. That’s what you were doing. Oh, for Pete’s sake. And I know it sounds like I’m dumping on Jerod Mayo, but I say, you know, he’s doing TV five years ago with Curran is just a way to say you are going to. You were going to lose him unless you gave him the job you were. He was gonna get hired by Carolina. Are you sure about that? And if you lost him, is it like it? What are you really losing there? So I think that they absolutely jumped the gun on Mayo last year. They’re not backing out of it, which is partly to their credit. You want to go back on your word. But things have changed. Good Lord, when you made him that promise, you thought it’d be two years, you’d have a good team, you’d have a franchise quarterback, and you’d be handing him a playoff team or a playoff contending team. Not this, but they’re going ahead and they’re going to do it and blah. I wouldn’t be all that psyched about it. That’s my opening. Take what’s yours, Murray.
Jim Murray: The Celtics. And believe it or not, they lost last night to Milwaukee, it didn’t bug me that much. Annoying, given who they’re playing. And, you know, it’s one of the teams they’re going to be worried about come the postseason. And they shot, like, complete ass. But I don’t think it’s a sky is falling. Oh no things to be concerned about type of loss because I think the league is complicit in last night’s loss. And here’s what I’d like. Can the can someone awaken the ghost of David Stern to haunt Adam Silver until he and the rest of the NBA finally come to their senses and stop scheduling the second night of back to backs with marquee teams? I get that you have to do them. They have to do the back to backs, but feature the crap teams, your Detroit Pistons, your Atlanta Hawks, the suck teams that nobody cares about, not Celtics bucks you idiots. Because when you do, you get what you deserve. Like last night for the national audience where Joe Mazzulla rightfully and spitefully said, you know what, f this, we suck tonight. Everyone sits the second half. We’re not doing this. And so now your national audience on TNT is treated to Ernie Johnson back in studio basically like, uh, homina uh, um, we have to take you to Knicks vs Mavericks because this is so unbelievably terrible. I don’t remember ever seeing that on an NBA game.
https://x.com/celtics/status/1745793030768996375?s=20
Mazz: This relates to the Patriots because I’ve heard this phrase thrown around a lot over the last few days. And it started with Adam Schefter talking about Pat Bowlen and the Broncos years ago when Dan Reeves was the coach, and they fired him. And Bowlen’s explanation at the time was, I want my team back. And that has been applied to the Patriots, and I feel they’ve done that now with Mayo, that they got their team back, that Bill Belichick was running the Patriots and taking control of the Patriots for 24 years. And I think Mayo is largely the choice of the Kraft’s because it allows the organization to, quote unquote, or allows ownership to take its team back. Mayo is indebted to the Patriots. As you said. I have nothing against Mayo either. In fact, I really like him a lot. I don’t know if I’m going to like him as a coach. We’ll see how that goes. It’s not like anybody has anything to stand on. And so this relates to me to the Kraft’s wanting their team back. Is that a good thing? Is that a good thing for the fan base? Maury. What’s the name of the franchise?
Jim Murray: The New England Patriots?
Mazz: Yeah. How about the baseball team?.
Jim Murray: Boston Red Sox?
Mazz: Boston Red Sox, I see. How about the hockey team and the basketball team?
Jim Murray: Boston Bruins, Boston Celtics?
Mazz: Well, that suggests to me the ownership is to the city and the region. They don’t call them the Kraft Patriots. They don’t call him them the Henry Red Sox. They’re Boston teams. They belong to the cities. Whether or not the city’s got cash in on the actual profits or not, I get it. It’s a family-owned business. I don’t want the team to belong to the owner. I don’t want it to be the Kraft Patriots any more than it’s the Henry Red Sox. The point is, it belongs to the region. Kraft himself yesterday said he’s a custodian. This isn’t about them and what they’re comfortable with. It’s about what’s doing what’s best to win games for the region. I hate that they want their team back. Hate it.
Listen to Felger and Mazz from 2-6 every Monday-Friday on 98.5 The Sports Hub, with hosts Mike Felger, Tony “Mazz” Massarotti, and Jim Murray “Big Jim”. You can listen live in the Sports Hub App and subscribe to their podcasts here. Follow @FelgerAndMazz on Twitter to keep up with the show!
Bill Belichick Tracker: Familiar faces joining Bill in Atlanta?
Bill Belichick is out as Patriots head coach. The question now is, where does he go next?
We’ll have all the news & rumors covered every step of the way with our official Bill Belichick Tracker at 985TheSportsHub.com. Belichick is certain to have a multitude of suitors around the NFL, and there’s already been plenty of reporting from top NFL insiders on where Belichick might land next.
The only team to fill their head coaching vacancy so far is, ironically, the Patriots, who have named Jerod Mayo their next guy. But Belichick’s next stop is sure to be one of the biggest subjects of rumors throughout the NFL off-season, even among Patriots fans. Until he actually joins a new team, we’ll all be on “Belichick Watch.”
Read below for the latest news & rumors surrounding Belichick and his next team in the tracker below.
Bill Belichick Tracker: The Latest News & Rumors
Get the latest Bill Belichick rumors at our official tracker. (Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)
Familiar Faces On Belichick’s Staff?
In perhaps the least surprising news in recorded history, Mark Maske of the Washington Post has named a few potential names for Bill Belichick’s coaching staff, should he join the Atlanta Falcons. Would anyone be shocked if Matt Patricia, Josh McDaniels, or Joe Judge joined Belichick in Atlanta? Of course they wouldn’t.
READ MORE: This detail about Bill Belichick and Matt Patricia highlights the Patriots’ dysfunction
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 18: Senior football advisor and offensive line coach Matt Patricia (L) and head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots walk onto the field for a game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on December 18, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Raiders defeated the Patriots 30-24. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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No surprise here, but Dianna Russini of The Athletic is reporting Bill Belichick as the Atlanta Falcons’ “top candidate” to become their next head coach. Falcons owner Arthur Blank flew his private jet to New England to bring Belichick to Atlanta for more meetings, after the pair met privately for dinner.
Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots looks on prior to Super Bowl LIV between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs at Hard Rock Stadium on February 02, 2020 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
