The New England Patriots' embarrassing 3-11 season appears to be taking its toll on ownership.
Jonathan Kraft, the President of the Kraft group and son of the Patriots' billionaire owner Robert Kraft, was pictured by CBS cameras during New England's 30-17 loss in Arizona on Sunday. The 60-year-old heir and Harvard Business School alum was clearly upset about another poor performance as he gestured to his 83-year-old father.
It was then that the younger Kraft appeared to announce: 'the play calling is terrible.'
It's unclear if Jonathan was referring to the offensive or defensive play calling, but head coach Jerod Mayo responded a question on the subject nonetheless.
'I haven't seen anything like that, so I'm not sure what you're talking about,' Mayo told reporters Monday. 'What I will say is they've been fully supportive of us as a team, and look, they're huge fans of the team they own. So whatever they say, that's what they said.'
Mayo did raise eyebrows after Sunday's loss when asked about offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt's decision to run the ball at the goal line with running backs Antonio Gibson and Rhamondre Stevenson rather than athletic quarterback Drake Maye.
Jonathan Kraft (right), the President of the Kraft group and son of the Patriots' billionaire owner Robert Kraft (left), appeared furious during Sunday's loss in Arizona
At least one former Patriots player is sick of both Jonathan Kraft and Mayo: Patrick Pass
Embattled Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo likely needs a strong finish to save his job
'You said it, I didn't,' Mayo said in a comment that many perceived to be a dig at Van Pelt.
Mayo walked back that comment on Monday.
'I know there's a lot of chatter about the question last night,' 'You said that.' I didn't mean anything by that,' Mayo said. 'It was more of a defensive response and, ultimately, I tried to clarify that with the follow-up question. Because ultimately all of those decisions are mine. So just wanted to get that out there.'
Speaking to Boston's WFAN on Monday, Mayo clarified that he and Van Pelt are aligned, schematically.
'I spoke to him this morning because I didn't think about it being a big story today,' Mayo said. 'I spoke to him today and he was like, 'What are you talking about?'
At least one former Patriots player is sick of both Jonathan Kraft and Mayo.
After calling Kraft a 'clown' and the one who 'caused the entire problem,' ex-New England fullback Patrick Pass turned his attention to the head coach: '#FireJerodMayo.'
Boston Sports Journal recently reported that Mayo's job may be on the line over the final month of the season. The first-year head coach and former Patriots linebacker is replacing six-time Super Bowl-champion Bill Belichick.
And according to the elder Kraft, he was the pick to be Belichick's successor as early as 2019.
'I've gotten to know Jerod over the last 15 years and I picked him 5 years ago to be our next head coach,' Kraft told Amazon's Taylor Rooks in September. 'He's very special and it's great that he had the ability to train under Bill.'
Mayo was previously the Patriots' linebackers coach from 2019 until 2023.
The Patriots offense currently rank 31st in points and 30th in yards, while their defense ranks 23rd and 20th in those categories, respectively.
Despite the team struggles, first-year quarterback Drake Maye has been impressive. The 22-year-old North Carolina product has completed 68.5 percent of his passes this season, and while he has tossed nine interceptions, he's also shown improved decision making over the course of his rookie season.
