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Optimism ahead involves projections on draft prospects like Travis Hunter and Kelvin Banks Jr.

The Patriots assessment on head coach Jerod Mayo already includes broad evaluations of his coaching staff, and how he can be better supported and support himself with potential modifications for next season, per league sources.

While there are sentiments in the building that certain groups have shown some signs of regression at times and frustrations about consistency linger, there’s also a desire to contextualize unit development against the reality of individual skill-level available.

For example, when asked how fair are judgements of a coaching staff given the current roster, I’ve heard replies like: “you still have to coach more with less like (the Patriots organization has) done with certain positions in the past,” and “you still can have certain schemes help people more,” versus comments also exuding a general sense that “everyone knows where the talent questions are.”

I personally get the sense that there could be philosophical assessments on the staff as well.

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Top Down Evaluations

Ultimately, evaluations will be made from the coordinators on down, and Mayo’s own staff decisions will be folded into the big picture and decisions ahead.

Nonetheless, the big picture still is currently framing Mayo’s tenure (as it did in Detroit after Dan Campbell’s first season starting 3-13) and the reality that he’s a coach hand-selected in advance by Kraft ownership to succeed Bill Belichick.

While some reported Mayo’s seat was getting “warmer” prior to the start of the team’s final “three-game stretch” and that competitive results were needed over this span, league sources maintain a change at the helm “would still be a shock” citing to date it has not been a rampant notion spreading through the building. For full transparency, said sources are leaving a crack for fluidity in any decision or opportunity, but still maintain and underline preparations for a swap is not currently the prevalent logic over expected emotion.

Finishing The Season Strong

First, every coach’s team always needs to show heart and that it’s not trending towards falling off the rails in its totality. So stating a coach’s team needs to be competitive down the stretch to keep their own job is somewhat disingenuous; this is a given for every coach. This assumption is and should already be rolled into the ownership-level perspective.

Secondly, the Patriots’ “final stretch” featured Buffalo twice and the Chargers on its schedule over the aforementioned span—these are teams with three and six losses respectively led by top-five quarterbacks and long-time head coaches. While these games are great measuring sticks to the top-third of the league, any juxtapositions to them need to be kept in context to a team clearly in rebuilding mode entering this season.

As it so happens, the Patriots lost to the AFC East leading Bills 24-21, and were up 14-0 at one point in the first quarter and witnessed some bright sports from Drake Maye down to improved man coverage of the secondary. While no one is looking to rack-up moral victories, it’s hard not to take away the obvious positive points in the midst of ongoing problems.

Especially, when the Patriots currently hold the No.2 position in the draft.

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Cause For Optimism

An interesting discussion on Heisman winner Travis Hunter is already brewing up North, that includes how Deion Sanders’ history should inform Hunter’s potential utilization at the next level or not, feelings on where Hunter lacks in comparisons to the likes of Justin Jefferson and Malik Nabers in terms of wide receiver skills, and some favoring Hunter as a corner…versus the longevity you could get out of drafting a top-rated offensive lineman first.

At the end of the day, once the agony of a long season is over, it’ll provide more headspace for logic to take over on who Mayo should be marching forward with in the trenches, and more optimism on the high draft pick reinforcements that are also on the way.