Rhamondre Stevenson starting a game he was not supposed to start now serves as one of the final examples of incompetence from Jerod Mayo’s one-year tenure.
So, what the hell happened?
During an in-depth story on the Patriots’ 2024 campaign, the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan and Doug Kyed offered intel into the puzzling Week 17 flip-flop.
“According to sources, Mayo had told offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt to sit Stevenson shortly before the game but that order, which was supposed to be relayed to running backs coach Taylor Embree, failed to reach Stevenson,” the Boston Herald wrote.
Mayo covered up his staff’s miscommunication and summarized it as a “coach’s decision.”
Patriots fans surely will remember how Mayo told the Patriots’ radio team and national broadcast that Antonio Gibson (not Stevenson) would start against the Chargers. Stevenson committed his league-leading seventh fumble the week prior and was being demoted as a result.
Well, until he wasn’t demoted at all.
The Boston Herald report contradicts that from The Athletic’s Chad Graff, who reported the incident occured because Mayo “struggled with discipline and how to enforce it.”
The communication failure in late December came after a season full of mixed messages and backtracks from Mayo, both behind-the-scenes and in front of the camera. They served as examples of how Mayo was in over his head and not qualified for the job.
