Bill Belichick delivered a withering assessment of the New England Patriots as his former team continue to struggle under Jerod Mayo.
New England fell to 1-3 with a 30-13 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, when the Patriots amassed just 216 total yards and allowed quarterback Jacoby Brissett to be sacked six times.
Belichick spent 24 seasons at the helm in New England, winning six Super Bowls, before he left earlier this year following a dismal 2023 season.
Mayo worked under Belichick for several years before he was appointed his successor.
The Patriots drafted quarterback Drake Maye with the third overall pick of the 2024 draft and the new head coach has come under pressure to use the former North Carolina star.
Bill Belichick gave a brutal assessment of the Patriots as his former team continue to struggle
Jerod Mayo worked under Belichick for several years before he was appointed his successor
But Mayo recently insisted that Brissett’s ‘toughness, dependability and leadership style’ is ‘what we need right now.’
Belichick was scathing in his verdict on the strategy in New England, however, telling the Pat McAfee show on Monday: ‘I’ll be honest with you, I have no idea what the plan is.
He added: ‘If Mayo says he has a plan then I guess he has one and we’ll have to wait and see what it is.
‘I don’t know but I’d say there are a number of issues there. One is: they can’t move the ball and can’t score.
‘They got a 63-yard field goal and then a touchdown off a fumbled kickoff. But otherwise they’ve had a hard time moving the ball.’
The new head coach has come under pressure to use former North Carolina star Drake Maye
Belichick also pointed to problems on the other side of the ball against San Francisco, adding: ‘The amount of time that (49ers quarterback Brock) Purdy had to throw was pretty high.
‘I have to think – in terms of the amount of time before the ball was released – it had to be the highest in the league or close to it.
‘So I think there are some pass rush issues there. There are scoring issues and Joey Slye was a great addition for them.
‘They have a good kicker and that’s a big upgrade from where we were last year but I’d say there are some other things that have to be worked out.’