Sports
It’s time for the Patriots to fire Jerod Mayo and set sights on Mike Vrabel
FOXBORO, Mass. — Jerod Mayo’s walk back to the locker room was slow. It was an eerie evening here. Foggy, dark, foreboding. Even though his tenure has lasted only 16 games, Mayo’s done this walk several times, the sulked retreat to the locker room after a performance that feels like rock bottom only for a new low to arrive.
But this one feels different. This one really has to be rock bottom. The kind that leads to change.
For weeks, the New England Patriots have signaled to every NFL insider with a cell phone that they really wanted Mayo to return for a second season as head coach. Robert Kraft had made Mayo the handpicked successor to all Bill Belichick built. They knew he’d have learning moments as a first-time head coach. But they really wanted it to work out. Essentially, the message was this: Just don’t make the Patriots an embarrassment, and you’re back for Year 2.
This one, though — Los Angeles Chargers 40, Patriots 7 — leaves no doubt. The Patriots are an embarrassment. They’re 3-13. They haven’t scored 30 or more points in 44 straight games. They’ve surrendered at least that many six times this season alone. They hadn’t lost six in a row since 1993 — now they’ve done it twice this year. For a second straight season, they’re going to finish with a sub-.300 winning percentage, something they haven’t done since they were the AFL’s Boston Patriots.
All of which is to say more simply: It’s time.
Time for change. Time for Kraft to admit this has all been too much too soon for Mayo and set sights on hiring Mike Vrabel to be the Patriots’ new head coach.
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Kraft’s plan seemed a reasonable one once upon a time. Mayo seemed a natural successor to Belichick. He played for him and was lured into coaching by him. He could take Belichick’s core beliefs and pair them with a more modern approach. It seemed like it had a chance to work. And what a story it would’ve been.
But 16 games in, it’s painfully obvious that Mayo is in over his head. Perhaps it wouldn’t be this simple if the crop of available coaches was a group without any ties to the Patriots who may not even consider a franchise that’s been in the wilderness since Tom Brady left five years ago.
What should make it an easy decision for Kraft is that the fix is obvious. One of the two best available coaches is a Patriots Hall of Famer, a tough, no-nonsense guy who could both be a bridge to the glory years while yielding optimism about what’s to come in Foxboro. In short, what Mayo was supposed to be.
Another way to look at it is this: The best case is that Mayo turns things around, gets buy-in from players, and with more talent on his roster, yields the kind of culture Vrabel built in Tennessee while getting the most out of his teams. But if that’s the hope, why not just hire Vrabel?
Mike Vrabel is the obvious choice for the Patriots if they move on from Jerod Mayo after one season. (Eric Canha / USA Today)
There’s no guarantee most years that other free-agent coaches would have any interest in the Patriots. But Vrabel would. He could return to the franchise where he became a three-time Super Bowl champion as a driving force of the first dynasty. And, importantly, he has a good relationship with Kraft. The Pats owner wined and dined Vrabel during the Titans’ bye week last year when Vrabel was inducted, rolling out the red carpet as a thank you for all Vrabel meant to the Pats (and maybe as an apology for trading him in 2009), which at the time irked some back in Tennessee watching Vrabel bask in all things Patriots. Even if the Patriots job wouldn’t be all that intriguing to some coaches, that’s not the case with Vrabel.
At this point, what’s the argument for bringing back Mayo? Just that Kraft once saw a lot of promise in him and they owe it to him to give him a chance with a better roster? Is that enough to let Vrabel go elsewhere, then potentially have to make a switch next year if things don’t work out and have to search through a new crop of available coaches who don’t have ties to the Patriots?
That path would mean changes to Mayo’s coaching staff, potentially swapping out his offensive and defensive coordinators. Alex Van Pelt’s offense has been really bad, and somehow DeMarcus Covington’s defense has been even worse. On national TV Saturday, the Chargers had 428 yards to the Patriots’ 181. They had 29 first downs to the Patriots’ 11. They had the ball for more than two-thirds of the game.
Back at the bye that started this month, the mandate to Mayo and his coaching staff seemed obvious. Just don’t become a trainwreck at the end of the season. Show some improvement here and there even if it doesn’t add up to a bunch of wins.
But in the three games since then, the Patriots have been blown out by the Arizona Cardinals, blew a 14-point lead to the Buffalo Bills and got blown out by the Chargers.
Everything about the latest one was embarrassing. Ladd McConkey, the rookie receiver they didn’t want in the second round, torched them for two touchdowns and 94 yards — outproducing the combined season-long effort from the receivers the Patriots drafted instead (Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker). The defense was gashed and lost its best player (Christian Gonzalez) to injury. The offense stunk and got Drake Maye smoked a few times.
Even the odd parts of this team that don’t really matter are embarrassing, like Mayo telling the broadcast crew before the game that they were going to start Antonio Gibson at running back to send a message to Rhamondre Stevenson … only to then start Stevenson.
“Coach’s decision” was all Mayo could muster three different times when pressed on the move.
At this point, he’s a coach without answers. Maybe if he had another year to be a mentee under Belichick this could’ve worked out. Or maybe if Eliot Wolf’s draft class hadn’t been a total disaster outside of Maye then Mayo could yield more production with a better roster.
Instead, Gillette Stadium was dotted by empty seats Saturday, an uncomfortable reminder of where they’re at.
Kraft invited Maye’s family to watch the game from his suite high above the 50-yard line. It’s obvious the Patriots feel they have their franchise quarterback. They owe it to him to surround him with better players — and, based on the last 16 games, better coaches.
The hope was that Mayo would get better as the season went on and he learned the ropes of a new job. His team would reflect that improvement.
Instead, the Patriots found a new rock bottom on an afternoon when an uncomfortable reality set in. It’s time to make another change at head coach.
(Top photo: Kathryn Riley / Getty Images)
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LAS VEGAS – Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio were once brothers in arms in the Judgment Day. The two helped the faction run “Monday Night Raw” for several years.
As championships and opportunities came and went, the rift between Balor and Mysterio grew. It came to a head when Balor caused Mysterio to lose the Intercontinental Championship to Penta. Balor leaving the Judgment Day left Mysterio and Liv Morgan as the leaders with JD McDonagh, Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez sticking around.
Finn Balor is introduced before his match against Dominik Mysterio during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The latter four chose to ride with Mysterio and attacked Balor on one episode of Raw.
The bitter war led to a match Sunday night at WrestleMania 42. To make matters more interesting, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce made the match a street fight hours before the show was set to begin.
Balor had vowed to bring the “Demon” out and he certainly did.
JACOB FATU PUTS DREW MCINTYRE IN THE ‘REAR VIEW’ IN UNSANCTIONED MATCH AT WRESTLEMANIA 42
Finn Balor is introduced before his match against Dominik Mysterio during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Balor made his way to the ring in his “Demon” gear, dripping with red and black paint. Mysterio was in a mask with other Mysterio supporters.
The two then proceeded to beat the crud out of each other.
Mysterio wrapped Balor’s head in between a chair and hit a 619 on him. He tried to pin Balor, but to no avail. At another point, Mysterio tossed Balor through a table set up in the corner.
As many have learned, it’s hard to keep your demons down. Mysterio learned the hard way.
Balor would not give up. Balor clotheslined Mysterio, hit him with a chair multiple times before wrapping his head in between the chair and drop-kicking him into the corner. Balor put Mysterio onto a table and hit the Coup de Grâce for the win.
Dominik Mysterio is introduced before his match against Finn Balor during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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Balor excised his own demons, while Mysterio is still haunted.
DENVER — What do you know? The once-stampeding Dodgers have been caged by the Colorado Rockies.
With a 9-6 loss Sunday at Coors Field, the two-time defending World Series champions lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Dodgers again couldn’t hold a lead, letting the Rockies tee off for 15 hits.
Nor could the Dodgers keep up offensively at the hitter-friendly park — though they put some pressure on in the ninth inning, when Shohei Ohtani led off with a ground-rule double and the Dodgers scored twice to cut the lead to three runs. Then the new guy, Ryan Ward, made the final out in his big league debut, robbed of a hit and a chance to keep chipping away by a diving Troy Johnston in right field.
Before that, the Rockies — who beat the Dodgers twice in 13 meetings all of last season — chased starter Roki Sasaki from the game in the fifth inning and then ruffled the Dodgers’ relievers. That included closer Edwin Díaz, who came on in the eighth and promptly gave up three singles, a walk and two runs before being pulled with the Dodgers trailing 8-4.
Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki gave up three runs on seven hits in 4-2/3 innings Sunday against the Rockies in Denver.
(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)
He and Blake Treinen combined to face eight batters without getting an out.
“They both weren’t sharp,” said manager Dave Roberts, who had theories but not many answers — though he did have real concern, especially about Díaz, who recently had his right knee checked out by the medical staff.
Roberts said the closer wanted to pitch after nine days off, even though it wasn’t a save situation. But his velocity was slightly down (95.4 mph vs. 95.8) and so, “today was a tough evaluation,” the manager said.
“It really was,” Roberts said. “Because, you know, I know what it’s supposed to look like, and when it doesn’t look like that, it gets a little concerning, really.”
And losing for the second time to the Rockies, who are now 9-13? Being in danger of losing their four-game series, after arriving in Denver without having lost to a National League opponent, against a club that hasn’t made the postseason since 2018?
It’s well below the bar the Dodgers have set, and it added a bitter note to Ward’s otherwise sweet debut.
Ward punched a big league clock for the first time wearing No. 67 and cranked his first hit off Rockies starter Michael Lorenzen in the fourth inning, lining a changeup to right field for a single that scored Andy Pages, made it 3-0 and got the 20-some members of Ward’s party up, jumping in place, hugging and high-fiving.
“When I was on first base, I got to see them all jumping around up there,” Ward said. “That was a pretty special moment.”
He also singled in the sixth and swung on the first pitch in his first at-bat, a fly out in the third inning.
The Dodgers gave Sasaki a 2-0 lead in the third. Alex Freeland drove in Hyeseong Kim, and Shohei Ohtani doubled in Freeland — and extended his career-best on-base streak to 51 games, moving past Willie Keeler into third place in Dodgers history.
Sasaki went 4-2/3 innings, threw 78 pitches and gave up three runs on seven hits, striking out two and walking two. His ERA after his fourth start: 6.11, worst in the six-man rotation.
The Dodgers fell behind 6-5 in the seventh when Treinen — who was cleared Friday after he was struck in the head by a batted ball during batting practice — gave up four consecutive hits, including a two-run home run by Mickey Moniak.
The result likely will be a minor detail when Ward tells the story years from now about getting the call after first baseman Freddie Freeman was placed on the paternity list.
The Dodgers’ No. 19 prospect and reigning Pacific Coast League MVP spent the last seven years in the minors. Last season, he hit 36 home runs and drove in 122 runs with a .937 on-base-plus-slugging percentage for triple-A Oklahoma City, and he has a 1.020 OPS and four homers this year.
Ward made it a point to improve his chase rate, draw more walks and get on base more frequently, everything the Dodgers asked of him. He also passed the broadest patience test.
“The plate discipline, being a better hitter … he’s done all that,” Roberts said. “He’s improved his defense. But honestly, for me, just not to let his lack of opportunity in the big leagues deter him. That’s easy when you get frustrated and let it affect performance, and he hasn’t done that.”
If anything, Ward said, the waiting made him better.
“I used it to keep going. ‘OK, if I’m not there yet, what do I have to do to get there?’” he said. “‘What part of my game do I need to work on to keep getting better?’
“I used it as fire to keep working.”
That will be the Dodgers’ assignment too.
In the finale of the four-game series Monday, the Dodgers are expected to start left-hander Justin Wrobleski (2-0, 2.12) against Colorado left-hander Jose Quintana (0-1, 5.63).
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LAS VEGAS – Danhausen’s curse may be real after all – just ask Stephen A. Smith and the New York Mets.
While the latter dropped their 10th game in a row, Smith got his share of the curse on Saturday night during Night 1 of WrestleMania 42. Smith was in attendance for WWE’s premier event of the year and heard massive boos from the crowd.
Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)
Smith was sitting ringside to watch the action. The ESPN star appeared on the videoboard above the ring at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. He appeared to embrace the reaction and smiled through it.
The boos came after Danhausen appeared on “First Take” on Friday – much to the chagrin of the sports pundit. Smith appeared perplexed by Danhausen’s appearance. Smith said he heard about Danhausen and called him a “bad luck charm.”
Danhausen said Smith had been “rude” to him and put the dreaded “curse” on the commentator.
WWE STAR DANHAUSEN SAYS METS ‘CURSE’ ISN’T EXACTLY LIFTED AS TEAM DROPS NINTH STRAIGHT GAME
Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)
Smith is far from the only one dealing with the effects of the “curse.”
Danhausen agreed to “un-curse” the Mets during their losing streak. However, he told Fox News Digital earlier this week that there was a reason why the curse’s removal didn’t take full effect.
“I did un-curse the Mets. But it didn’t work because, I believe it was Brian Gewirtz who did not pay Danhausen. He did not send me my money so it did not take full effect,” Danhausen said. “Once I have the money, perhaps it will actually work because right now it’s probably about a half of an un-cursing. It’s like a layaway situation.”
Danhausen enters the arena before his match against Kit Wilson during SmackDown at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on April 10, 2026. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
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On “Friday Night SmackDown,” WWE stars like The Miz and Kit Wilson were also targets of Danhausen’s curse.
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