What Devin McCourty “hates” about the Jerod Mayo-Bill Belichick drama

The conflict between Jerod Mayo and Bill Belichick worries a former patriot.

During a Tuesday appearance on “Pro Football Talk Live,” former Patriots safety Devin McCourty discussed the very public fallout from Sunday's loss to the Jaguars in London, with current New England coach Jerod Mayo calling the team ” called “soft”, just like his predecessor Bill Belichick did not agree with the assessment.

“I hate to see how, when Mayo speaks, he's kind of like, 'Well, he's kind of trying to do Bill.' Bill speaks, trying to target Mayo. We called these two Jerod “Jerod Belichick.” We always said he was Bill's long-lost son because he was like that and was so similar to him as a player, so I hate to see how this all turned out, that they aren't close in some way and Jerod can be. “I don’t mention Bill as a former colleague, as a coach and then as your former head coach,” said McCourty, who played for the Patriots from 2010-22.

“I hate that part of it, so let's hope they clear that up and we stop seeing these kinds of subtle shots back and forth in the media.”

Mayo, a former Patriots linebacker who played alongside McCourty for six seasons, moved to coaching after his retirement and served as New England's inside linebackers coach from 2019-2023.

Mayo was named Belichick's successor in January after the franchise parted ways with the eight-time Super Bowl winner, who led the team to six championships in 24 seasons.

Although the Patriots opened the season with an upset win over the Bengals in Cincinnati, they have lost six straight games, including a 32-16 loss to Jacksonville overseas in Week 7.

“Disappointing game. We came out. We started quickly. I would say: Look, we're a soft football team across the board. They talk about what makes a strong football team, namely the ability to run the ball. This means being able to stop the run. And that means being able to cover kicks. And we didn’t do any of that today,” Mayo said on Sunday after the game.

Mayo clarified the comments Monday, explaining on “The Greg Hill Show” that the team “plays soft” and equates toughness with running the ball, stopping the run and covering kicks, according to Audacy.

He also touched on the 2023 squad coached by Belichick, saying, “Last year was played soft at times.”

Belichick, who is making the most of his sports media opportunities this season, said on “The Pat McAfee Show” Monday that he was “a little hurt for these guys” over Mayo's comments.

“They were the best team in the league against the run last year,” Belichick said. “These guys went out there and did it even though we couldn’t score many points offensively. I feel bad for the defensive players because they’re a tough group.”

Rookie quarterback Drake Maye, making his second career start after Sunday's loss, supported the first-year coach and noted the team needs to get stronger.

“Coach Mayo is not going to come here and say anything he didn’t already tell us in the locker room,” said Maye, the third overall pick in this year’s NFL draft. “We are not tough, he always preaches being tough. He preached it today. He said we were tough, didn't run the football, stopped the run and covered kicks. I think he does a great job of getting the message across to us and the guys know it. Jon Jones gave a speech after the game in which he said: “You have to find it.” “We have to find something.” What we are doing is not good enough. I have to man up.”

The Patriots, once again in the cellar of the AFC East, will have an opportunity to turn things around on Sunday when they host the reeling Jets (2-5) in Foxborough.