FOXBOROUGH — The media has been creating all kinds of noise about the Patriots lately.
Jerod Mayo shouldn’t have called his players “soft” in public. The run defense is a mess. They should have gotten more in the trade for Joshua Uche.
“For the most part, we do a good job as leaders and as captains to not let the noise affect what goes on inside the locker room,” defensive captain Deatrich Wise said.
What’s different is the source of much of the noise. Bill Belichick, Mr. Ignore the Noise himself.
Now a ubiquitous analyst with six different media platforms, Belichick has used his pulpit to rip into Mayo and the 2-6 Patriots several times, with shots both subtle and direct.
It has created an awkward atmosphere in Foxborough. Many of Belichick’s former players are like kids stuck in a nasty divorce.
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“Yeah, uh, I think ultimately, we’re just on to Tennessee,” said long snapper Joe Cardona, the longest-tenured Patriot at 10 seasons.
Belichick jumped all over Mayo last week after the coach called the Patriots “soft” in London.
“I’m kind of hurt for those guys, because to call them soft? They’re not soft,” Belichick said.
Belichick also pointed out that a run defense that is ranked 26th this year ranked No. 1 under him last year. He criticized the revolving door at offensive line: “The Patriots can’t even get the same five guys on the field.”
In a chat among Belichick, Matt Patricia, and Michael Lombardi for their show on Underdog Sports, Lombardi ripped Mayo for allowing a player-friendly culture to run amok.
“When you ride bicycles in the locker room, I don’t know how you can pretend you’re not soft,” Lombardi said, referencing a video from this spring of Mike Onwenu.
“The Patriots got a lot of questions to answer. Between the head coach and the atmosphere and who’s soft and who’s not soft…”
— Boorish (@Boorish_Sports) October 24, 2024
Belichick touched on the Patriots drama and the trench play in the latest Coach Podcast from @Underdog__NFL pic.twitter.com/kEdWGZ9bXb
This week, Belichick took a shot at the Patriots for only getting a 2026 sixth-round pick from the Chiefs for Uche.
“The Patriots probably should have gotten more for him,” Belichick said on ESPN’s “Pat McAfee Show.” “Josh Uche’s a really good rusher. He hasn’t had a chance to rush much this year for the Patriots because they’ve been behind a lot.”
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Belichick has been so adamant about criticizing the Patriots that he’ll do it on one platform — say, Monday afternoon on McAfee — then double down on ESPN2’s ManningCast or his “Let’s Go!” podcast with Jim Gray.
“It’s kind of funny seeing him in media now, because he’s been anti-media for a long time,” said Wise, a Patriot since 2017. “But he’s not coaching anymore, so I guess his rules changed.”
Belichick’s criticism obviously carries extra weight given his stature. His criticism also is selective and grossly self-serving, given that the Patriots fired him in January. Above all, it exposes how much animosity exists between Belichick, the Krafts, and Mayo, his former pupil.
Mayo hasn’t fired back, though he did take a backhanded shot in regard to the roster Belichick left him with.
“Look, I learned a lot from Coach,” Mayo said Monday on WEEI. “I learned a lot on the field, off the field, all those things. In saying that, I have to do what I believe in. And that’s what it comes down to.”
When most coaches and players go into media, they often avoid criticizing colleagues and give rather bland opinions. Not Belichick. He is using his media gigs to rip his rivals and settle scores.
He has criticized the Jets, particularly owner Woody Johnson, several times for firing coach Robert Saleh.
“The owner being the owner — just ready, fire, aim,” Belichick said.
He ripped Giants general manager Joe Schoen for letting Saquon Barkley leave for the Eagles.
“I don’t think [Giants coach Brian] Daboll wanted to get rid of Saquon and I certainly don’t think [owner] John Mara wanted to get rid of Saquon,” Belichick said on McAfee. “It just seemed like a general manager thing, like, ‘We don’t think anybody will pay him.’ ”
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Belichick questioned Jaguars coach Doug Pederson, the coach who bested him in Super Bowl LII with the Eagles. Pederson mentioned needing to change his team’s culture.
“I’d like to know kind of what he has in mind there,” Belichick said. “It’s not his first year, and this is kind of what they’ve established, so I’m not really sure what that means, but clearly things aren’t going very well in Jacksonville.”
And Monday on McAfee, Belichick ripped Jets defensive end Haason Reddick for undisciplined play in the loss to the Patriots.
“Reddick came in the game and just ran past the quarterback multiple times, whether it was [Drake] Maye or Jacoby [Brissett], and created those scramble lanes that the Patriots took advantage of,” he said.
Reddick didn’t appreciate the analysis.
“Aye someone call Bill Belichick and give him a job,” Reddick said on X. “Seems like he’s home bored and can’t keep me out of his mouth.”
Belichick is revealing a petty and vindictive streak that will probably be off-putting to some NFL owners if he wants to get back into coaching.
But cornerback Jonathan Jones, the second-longest tenured Patriot at nine seasons, said he doesn’t have a problem with Belichick taking his criticisms public.
“What he’s saying is nothing I wouldn’t have heard him say in a team meeting,” Jones said. “That’s just more of the world getting to see that side of him, breaking it down and being brutally honest. For the guys who know, they understand that’s just who he is.”
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Belichick‘s constant criticism also is making life a lot more difficult for Mayo. Perhaps that’s the point.
“I hate to see the way this has all unfolded, that they’re not kind of close and Jerod can’t call up Bill as a former colleague, as a coach,” Devin McCourty said this week on Pro Football Talk. “So hopefully they work this out and we stop seeing these kind of subtle shots back and forth in the media.”
Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com.