Things appeared tense in the Patriots owner’s suite Sunday during a clash with the Cardinals in Glendale.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his son, team president Jonathan Kraft, seemed visibly frustrated after the Patriots lost five yards on a run with four minutes left in the first half and New England trailing, 10-0.
“The play calling is terrible,” Jonathan appeared to mouth when CBS cameras captured the pair sitting together at State Farm Stadium.
Jonathan, who was holding a pen and paper on his lap, appeared to be taking notes during the game.
The Cardinals went on to defeat the Patriots, 30-17, for New England’s fourth straight loss.
That came after Boston Sports Journal reported on Dec. 9 that there was “some pushback from league sources for reporting that Jonathan Kraft is as on board with [first-year head coach Jerod] Mayo as his father.”
Mayo — who many believe coached his way onto the hot seat Sunday — said he didn’t see the now-viral video of the Krafts when asked about it.
“I haven’t seen anything like that, so I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” Mayo said during a press conference Monday morning. “What I will say is they’ve been fully supportive of us as a team, and look, they’re huge fans of the team they own. So whatever they say, that’s what they said.”
Mayo doubled down on his comments during an appearance on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” on Monday.
“I’m not gonna, you know, get into what they said. I didn’t see the clip,” Mayo told the radio station. “I heard about it this morning. But look, they own the football team. They’re fans of the team, and they have supported us 100 percent on the football side of not really getting involved in that stuff, which has been good.”
Mayo also walked back his comment that seemed to throw shade at offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt immediately after the game.
During his postgame press conference, Mayo was asked specifically about the play calling when his team failed to convert on a third- and fourth-and-1 in Arizona territory while down 16-3 in the second half.
Patriots running backs Antonio Gibson and Rhamondre Stevenson were both stuffed at the line, and Mayo was asked why quarterback Drake Maye didn’t get a carry in that situation.
“You said it, I didn’t,” Mayo said.
On Monday, Mayo explained that it was a “defensive response” and that all decisions fall on him.
“I know there’s a lot of chatter about the question last night, ‘You said that.’ I didn’t mean anything by that,” Mayo said. “It was more of a defensive response and, ultimately, I tried to clarify that with the follow-up question. Because ultimately all of those decisions are mine. So just wanted to get that out there.”
Mayo added during his Monday appearance on “The Greg Hill Show,” that he spoke with Van Pelt, and the pair are “100 percent” on the same page.
“I spoke to him this morning because I didn’t think about it being a big story today. I spoke to him today and he was like, ‘What are you talking about,’” Mayo said.
The Patriots currently have a 3-11 record and are in last place in the AFC East.
Earlier this month, the Boston Sports Journal reported that Mayo’s job is not 100 percent safe and that the final four games of the regular season could determine his future.
New England will face the AFC East-leading Bills (11-3) in Buffalo on Dec. 22.
