Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, goes to go down as one of the vital impactful days within the historical past of the New England Patriots. At this level, it’s laborious to see it happening as constructive.
Quite a bit occurred Sunday. New England entered the day with the No. 1 decide within the 2025 NFL Draft. Jerod Mayo and the teaching employees turned over the keys to third-string quarterback Joe Milton, however the Patriots nonetheless beat a Buffalo Payments group resting all of its key gamers forward of the NFL playoffs. Consequently, the Patriots fell from the primary decide to No. 4. After the sport, New England introduced Mayo was fired after his first and solely season as Patriots coach.
The Ringer’s Invoice Simmons, who known as the whole day “incompetent” within the second, had some even harsher criticisms throughout his Sunday evening podcast.
“After I consider the darkish, dumb days of the group since I turned a Patriots fan with Jim Plunkett and Mack Herron and everyone once I was 4 years outdated, this needs to be within the prime eight or 9,” Simmons mentioned on “The Invoice Simmons Podcast” on The Ringer. “It’s only a full organizational collapse, shame, it made no sense. It made no sense because it was taking place. Each different group — the (expletive) Chiefs knew tips on how to tank, proper? …We had the primary decide and now we have now the fourth decide. We transfer again three spots each single spherical.”
Simmons additionally made the identical level others have raised concerning the timing of the whole lot. If the Patriots had been leaning towards firing Mayo and really believed dropping Sunday — and getting the No. 1 decide — was the best-case state of affairs, did they put that in danger by letting Mayo coach?
Story continues under commercial
“The factor that kills me is that they fired the coach proper after the sport,” he mentioned. “They knew they had been doing that for no less than every week. …They’re attempting to educate for his or her jobs. You need to eliminate these guys if you already know you’re going to eliminate them after the sport. Why not eliminate them earlier than the sport? Why not put this place within the fingers of people that care concerning the massive, long-term image of the franchise as an alternative of attempting to win the sport?”
Like many Patriots followers, Simmons basically summed up Sunday’s calamity as a becoming finish to one of the vital embarrassing seasons in franchise historical past.
“It simply speaks to what this entire season was like,” Simmons lamented. “Homeowners who don’t know what they’re doing, a entrance workplace that doesn’t know what they’re doing and a coach that had no concept what he was doing and contradicted himself again and again, beginning in August when he was like ‘It’s gonna be a contest for this job.’ Then, he begins (Jacoby) Brissett although (Drake) Maye was higher after which 4 weeks in he was like ‘Maye was enjoying higher, so he’s gotta begin.’ …It was simply contradictions left and proper, and he deserved to be fired.”
Simmons and Patriots followers now sit and wait to see who would be the third coach in as many seasons whereas looking forward to who could possibly be left at No. 4 within the draft.
Story continues under commercial
