Patriots blow the tank, fire Mayo 😧

B-Side Sports

Plus: 💭 Next coach up??

Good Morning, Boston.

On this day in 2002 … The Patriots trounced the Carolina Panthers, 38-6, behind two pick-sixes from Ty Law and Otis Smith and a punt-return TD from Troy Brown. The last time New England scored more than 30 points in a game? October 16, 2022 against the Cleveland Browns (38-15). Ooof. 

WHAT’S ON TAP TODAY:

Bazooka Joe Milton balls out

Celtics get stormed

Cool Hand Luke [Kornet]

LET’S GET INTO IT…

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LEADING OFF

A stunning end

Image: Barry Chin/Boston Globe

It’s finally over. And somehow the Patriots lost … even though they won their season finale on Sunday. Their 23-16 win over Buffalo ruined their chances of securing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft — prompting Pats fans to boo as the team walked off the field with a W. Then, news broke almost immediately that the team fired Jerod Mayo as its coach. What a fitting, yet strange way to wrap up a 4-13 campaign: everyone loses, and no one is happy. Let’s break down the good, bad, and ugly from a forgettable 2024.

The good: Drake Maye … and not much else. The No. 3 pick seized the starting job in Week 6 and immediately looked like a rising star. Only Jayden Daniels averaged more yards per pass attempt or had a higher completion percentage than Maye, who also authored some mesmerizing deep throws and late-game heroics. Plus, not all the interceptions he threw this year were his fault. The rest of the league is already taking notice.

The bad: Everything else. The offensive line couldn’t protect either Maye or Jacoby Brissett. No Patriots wideout topped 700 receiving yards. The defense went from one of the NFL’s best to one of its worst in just one season. An inexperienced coaching staff couldn’t make anyone better. We knew it had a chance to look like this coming into the season, but the reality was somehow much worse.

The ugly: Every week, there was a new insult to injury with this team.Mayo seemingly backtracked on a new verbal gaffe after each game. Respected veteran players went after disgruntled fans for booing the team. One of their captains, Jabrill Peppers, got arrested and stripped of his captaincy. You had players calling out other players for not being professional enough. The Pats weren’t just bad. They were a headache, and that’s part of why Mayo’s now unemployed.

The future: The rebuild continues. New England is now locked into the fourth pick in the draft, and they’ll have a league-best $131 million in cap space to work with in free agency. Now, they’ll have a new coach — perhaps old friend Mike Vrabel or Detroit’s Ben Johnson? With Maye and big-time draft capital in tow, the job will be an attractive one. Maybe we’ll finally get the culture shift we were hoping for this year. The Patriots can only go up from here right … right?

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BOSTON SPORTS

Quick hits & headlines

Image: Rich Gagnon/Getty Images

Joe Milton ruins the tank. The 2024 sixth-round pick did not understand the assignment, completing 22-of-29 throws for 241 yards and a TD to beat the Bills’ backups. Even more impressive than his play was the standing backflip he hit in the end zone after his rushing touchdown. Just like that, the Patriots have two of the best QBs in the AFC East. If only they had the chance to add Travis Hunter to the mix in April. 

Celtics miss the mark in loss to the Thunder. The anti-3-pointer crowd will have a field day with this one: the C’s shot an ugly 9-for-46 (19.6%) from downtown in Sunday’s loss to Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City. But knowing them, they’ll shoot 60 next game and score 140 points. Shooters gotta shoot.

Former Red Sox say goodbye to McCoy Stadium. Players and media members paid a touching tribute to the old Pawtucket stomping grounds of the Sox’s Triple-A affiliate, which will be torn down soon now that the Triple-A Sox play in Worcester. Imagining Roger Clemens blowing poor minor-league hitters away at that park in 1984 is giving “Field of Dreams.” Plenty of history in that ballpark — including the longest pro baseball game ever played (33 innings!)

Luke Kornet gets his revenge against Rockets. There’s only one suitable response to getting dunked on the way Kornet was posterized by Houston’s Jalen Green: you go do it to someone else in turn. Kornet obliged, baptizing Rockets big man Alperen Şengün on an alley-oop. Hang this photo in the Louvre.

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LAST CALL

Like Mike?

Image: Nick Cammett/Getty Images

The Patriots should not rush to hire Mike Vrabel.

The former Patriots linebacker and Titans coach sounds like the overwhelming favorite in fans’ eyes, and he’s reportedly had his eye on this job. But after last season, ownership must interview as many candidates as possible, including Detroit offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. Then, if they want to hire Vrabel, so be it. But New England has to get this hire right and not waste Maye’s rookie contract. If Vrabel doesn’t have the best plan to maximize Maye, don’t hire him.

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THEY SAID IT, NOT ME

Business decisions

Image: Robert F. Bukaty/AP

For me, personally, this was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made.

Robert Kraft on firing Jerod Mayo.

If you don’t want to get shot at, don’t join the Army.

Pats special teams coach Jeremy Springer on fans booing at Gillette Stadium.

We’re not worried about the draft… We’re worried about winning.

Christian Elliss on the Patriots losing the No. 1 pick due to their win.

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GAME … SET … MEME

Slow down, Joe!

Pats fans just can’t win. Of course the one game people desperately wanted the Patriots to lose was the one where they looked somewhat watchable. Even the Krafts didn’t seem thrilled they were winning. Your 2024 New England Patriots: finding new ways to upset everyone.

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🗞 That’s a wrap. I’ll be obsessively refreshing the timeline for Mike Vrabel-to-the-Patriots updates. It’s gonna be a busy January. 

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