Patriots fans chanting ‘Fire Mayo’ need to ‘know their place,' says Jahlani Tavai

This NFL season has been tough sledding for the New England Patriots under first-year head coach Jerod Mayo. They're 3-13 and coming off a monster 40-7 loss at home that prompted fans to start chanting "Fire Mayo."

That didn't sit well with Patriots linebacker Jahlani Tavai. "They're not qualified to do what Mayo is doing, or whatever the Pats are doing," he said Friday. "They're fans, and I appreciate them at times, but sometimes they just got to know their place and just understand that it's a work in progress. Rome wasn't built in one day."

Tavai, who said he was "frustrated" and "told a fan to quiet down in a non-polite way" during the loss, also expressed how the Patriots look at the Detroit Lions as a model for growth. They went 3-13-1 in their first season under head coach Dan Campbell in 2021, 9-8 in 2022, reached the NFC Championship Game in 2023 and are 14-2 this season. Tavai is in his fourth season with the Patriots after spending the first two seasons of his career with the Lions.

Tavai leads the Patriots with 111 combined tackles, which is his second consecutive year surpassing the 100-plus mark. He registered 10 combined tackles in the Week 17 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. New England was outgained in total yards, 428-181, during that game. What's more, it marked the second-most points the Pats have given up this season and the sixth time this season that their opponent has scored at least 30 points. 

New England's defense is surrendering 216.7 passing yards (15th in the NFL), 131.4 rushing yards (25th), 348.7 total yards (23rd) and 25.1 points (26th) per game. Prior to succeeding Bill Belichick as head coach, Mayo was New England's inside linebackers coach from 2019-23, which followed an eight-year career at linebacker for the Patriots.

The Patriots will finish the 2024 season at home against the Buffalo Bills (13-3) on Sunday. 

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