Ex-Patriots staffer accuses Jerod Mayo of being a scapegoat for Bill Belichick

New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo recently crossed the line into taking a shot at his former boss.

Mayo bit his tongue last Monday during his appearance on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” when asked whether inheriting one of the NFL’s weakest rosters from former head coach and top decision-maker Bill Belichick had translated into poor results.

“Tell me,” Mayo said. “I’m not going there.”

Michael Lombardi, who worked under Belichick in Foxboro, Massachusetts, didn’t like that and expressed how displeased he was with the comment when he appeared on NESN’s “Foxboro Rush” podcast with George Balekji and Travis Thomas on Friday.

“(Patriots owner Robert Kraft) is doing the same thing as well,” Lombardi said. “He said he couldn’t trust Bill anymore, but he has six Super Bowl trophies in his suitcase. I don’t know where else you get more confidence from. It’s all about discrediting the former coach who won six Super Bowls and building a new program…Bill is no longer in the building, so if you bring players back you can’t blame him for what’s going on. I think this is coming out of both sides of your mouth…

“It really is a subterfuge. When are they going to stop blaming Bill for everything that goes wrong? I know if and when they start winning because it will all be up to them.”

Lombardi compared the situation to that of the Washington Commanders, who fired longtime head coach Ron Rivera last season and enjoyed a 4-2 start under new head coach Dan Quinn and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.

“Washington isn’t saying it’s Ron Rivera’s fault. Washington just got better,” Lombardi said. “Washington had one pick higher than the Patriots, so they were a worse team than New England last year, but they’ve gotten better.”

You can listen to the latest episode of “Foxboro Rush” on YouTube and Spotify.