Patriots feeling heat of potential ‘major changes’ coming after lost season

FOXBORO — Patriots fans’ displeasure was heard on Saturday. The biggest question is whether they were heard by the team’s biggest decision-makers.

Twice late in Saturday’s 40-7 loss to the Chargers, which veteran defensive tackle Davon Godchaux called “embarrassing,” fans were heard calling for head coach Jerod Mayo’s job.

“Fire Mayo” chants were loud enough to be heard from the closed-off press box. They weren’t deafening, but then again, the stadium was only half full at the time. Patriots fans had better things to do than sit in a cold, wet stadium and watch their team get blown out by the Chargers.

And those there sent a message to team owner Robert Kraft and president Jonathan Kraft.

“Look, you hear those things, but at the same time, they paid to sit in the seats, and we’ve got to play better,” Mayo said after the game. “If we play better, we don’t have to hear that stuff.”

Internally, people on staff recently held the belief that Robert Kraft would not put his ego aside and fire Mayo, whom was hand-picked by ownership to be Bill Belichick’s successor, after one season. But the Patriots have now lost six straight games and, if anything, look worse than they played in Week 1, when they surprised the world by beating the Bengals.

Defensive end Keion White was asked if there’s a realization that major changes could be coming after this season. White welcomed it.

“I mean, I hope so,” White said. “If changes aren’t made, then what are we doing? Again, the NFL is a production-based business, so if we’re not doing anything to change our production, which is loss, what are we doing?”

White wouldn’t specify when asked what changes he was hopeful are coming.

“It’s not for me to decide,” White said. “First and foremost, I’m changing me, changing how I play the game. …

“I think you should play well every game. That’s the bottom line. And are we doing it right now? No. And so then something needs to change.”

Godchaux, who preached patience in the team’s rebuild after Satursday’s loss, called the “fire Mayo” chants “ridiculous.”

“The guy’s first year, first season. It’s not going to be golden,” Godchaux said. “We didn’t expect to win a Super Bowl this year. I get it. Nobody wants to get beat 40-7, but the fire Mayo chants are just ridiculous.”

He also took issue with fans booing during the loss.

“Me just being in New England for four years, could have been better class by the fans with the booing and stuff like that,” Godchaux said. “It is embarrassing, I get it, but at the end of the day, you’re fighting for pride at the end of the day.”

Mayo expressed “full confidence” in his coaching staff twice after Saturday, once when asked about his defense’s regression under coordinator DeMarcus Covington and again when asked if the loss was a talent issue or coaching issue.

“Yeah, I have full confidence in the staff. I have full confidence in the players in there,” Mayo said. “I think again, it just comes down to being consistent across the board.”

Rookie quarterback Drake Maye called speculation about the job security of head coach Jerod Mayo and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt “B.S.” after the team’s Week 16 loss to the Bills.

When asked what he believes Mayo and Van Pelt are doing well to give him hope, he cited their resolve.

“Yeah, I think they’re still bringing it every week. I think that’s the biggest thing you see,” Maye said. “They’re not quitting. They’re still coaching as hard since week one. They’re still studying film as hard. We’re still meeting as hard.

“I think the biggest thing was you don’t see those guys quitting. I think the score may not tell that today, but I feel like the guys are still wanting to win. We’re still leaving it out there every week, and I think that was kind of my message to the team. Man, just give it all you got. It’s our last two games, and this one today, so we’ve got one more chance next week, so just leave it all out there.”

Godchaux believes the issues run deeper than just Mayo, that the Patriots had the Bills “on the ropes” in last week’s 21-14 loss and that better performances from one or two players could have resulted in a win.

“Everybody plays a part in this. It’s not just Jerod Mayo,” Godchaux said. “That’s way above my pay grade. Everybody plays a part in it, players, coaches, front office, everybody, you know. So we just got to get better as a whole, everybody. And the players got to take accountability because we’re the ones that put the film on tape. …

“We just got to get better as a team, as a whole organization. We just got to get better. … I believe in this organization. I believe in the players.”

Patriots safeties Dell Pettus, Jaylinn Hawkins and Marte Mapu sat huddled in the locker room talking with each other for over an hour after Saturday’s game.

Hawkins said the conversation revolved around sticking together and not quitting on each other.

Pettus said he mostly listened to Hawkins and Mapu and asked questions.

The undrafted rookie said the biggest lesson he learned during the conversation was “patience.”

“Patience with yourself, patience when it comes to the process,” Pettus said.

It was an unusual scene to see three players talk for so long after a game and showed that there are players in the Patriots’ locker room taking losses hard, asking the right questions and trying to figure out what’s gone wrong.