❌⭕ A coaching conundrum

Good Morning, Boston.

📺 Cancel your evening plans and watch “The Comeback.” The epic retelling of the Red Sox’s thrilling ALCS win over the Yankees and subsequent end of the “Curse of the Bambino” will have you celebrating like it’s 2004. Let’s hope Dave Roberts, Mookie Betts, and the World Series-leading Dodgers can send New York home empty-handed again. 

In the mood for more history? Check out Chad Finn’s new book on the Celtics from 1946 all the way up to Banner 18 earlier this summer. 

What’s on tap today:

• Boutte bounces back

• Theeeeee Yankees lose

• Another banner day for Boston

Let’s get into it …

LEADING OFF

How to lose a locker room

Sunday’s win quieted the Jerod Mayo questions — for now. A week after Mayo called his squad out for a “soft” performance against the Jaguars in London, they responded with resilience in a win against the Jets thanks to a gutsy game-winning drive from backup QB Jacoby Brissett after Drake Maye (concussion) left the game early. After weeks of catching flak (and dealing with some sharp chirps from Bill Belichick’s 3,438 media obligations), Mayo got the response he needed after that risky call-out. But he’s not out of the woods yet. 

It’s been a trying season for Mayo so far. No one expected the Patriots to contend for the playoffs in 2024. But we didn’t expect it to look this messy. A 2-6 record, disgruntled players, rumors of people missing curfew in London and Mayo’s own inexperience in dealing with the media have left fans frustrated. On top of that, former coaches and even players like Rex Ryan and Devin McCourty have repeatedly critiqued Mayo’s decidedly un-Belichickian handling of the team, leading many to ask if Mayo was truly ready for the job.

His tenure has some troubling comps in Boston. The dysfunction on the player side and Mayo’s media stumbles recall a few coaching situations in this town that quickly eroded. Bruce Cassidy, Jim Montgomery’s predecessor, famously lost his job after a 51-win season because players began tuning out his messaging. (Montgomery, meanwhile, feels his seat heating up after a 4-4-1 start and a public tiff with captain Brad Marchand.) Bobby Valentine got the axe after one season with the Red Sox due to his hostile relationship with key players like Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, and his own coaching staff.

Mayo’s flirting with trouble … Though the rookie coach didn’t lie when he said the Pats didn’t play tough football in London, it was a risky move to open up his players to public criticism. Though most took the comments in stride, others may not have been so receptive behind the scenes. On top of that, Sunday’s drop-fest by the wide receiver room, which has been under intense scrutiny, suggests all’s not completely well with the Pats, even after a win over a spiraling Jets team.

… But it’s too early to bury him. Winning cures a lot of ills. Mayo’s admonishments did seem to galvanize the Patriots more than it pulled them apart, and they showed fight in beating the Jets. While more stumbles could put him back on a path toward losing his team, there’s still time for Mayo to learn from his missteps and keep his team together through a trying season. A winnable game against the Titans next week will help — as will sticking to Belichick’s snoozefest script in his meetings with the media.

🤔 How’s Jerod Mayo doing in his first season?

TOGETHER WITH FLEXCAR

Get more for your money

🚗 Saving up for Celtics tickets just got a whole lot easier. With Flexcar, you can drive without worrying about down payments or long term car loans. Whether you’re driving to the game or gearing up for a weekend adventure, your car, insurance, maintenance, and 24/7 roadside assistance are all bundled into one easy monthly payment. Need to switch your ride? No problem, it's as simple as a halftime swap.  Hit the road starting at just $199/month and use code BSIDESPORTS for 200 free miles.

BOSTON SPORTS

Quick hits & headlines

💪🏽 Kayshon Boutte lets play do the talking for Pats. The second-year receiver, along with the rest of his unit, was having a brutal game for most of Sunday’s win. It was rough timing for Boutte, especially after he publicly complained about not getting the football enough. But he delivered when it mattered most against the Jets. Along with his monster 34-yard grab to get the Pats into the red zone late, he set up the game-winning TD with another catch down at the 1-yard line. That’s how you respond when the chips are down.

🍀 The Celtics are embarrassing the haters. Somehow, the C’s might be even better now than they were in their title-winning season. They’ve shown they can win however they need to during their 3-0 start: blowing out the Knicks and Wizards, then overcoming some doldrums against a resilient Pistons squad behind another huge performance from Jayson Tatum (37 points). The C’s are so good at “Mazzulla Ball” that people are demanding rule changes to slow down their barrage of three-point shots. Here’s an idea: do a better job stopping it. Oh wait … they can’t. 

🎖️ Tyler O’Neill takes home hardware for resurgent season. The MLBPA named the Sox outfielder its AL Comeback Player of the Year after he rebounded from an injury-plagued 2023 to lead Boston with 31 home runs. He also came up clutch with a late-season home run streak, including a walk-off blast against the Tampa Bay Rays, to help keep the Red Sox’s playoff hopes alive. O’Neill, who’s now a free agent, should be a top offseason target for Boston, given his propensity for putting dents in the Green Monster.

BEYOND BOSTON

Out-of-town report

Steve Kerr insults Celtics fans’ intelligence. The Golden State Warriors coach told reporters he has no problem playing a 12-man rotation because of how deep his squad is. But he couldn’t find minutes for Jayson Tatum in the Olympics? Send him a “Thank You” card for Tatum’s early-season rampage … or just boo him when the Dubs come to town on Nov. 6.

Freddie Freeman walks off the Yankees in grand fashion. A walk-off grand slam in the Fall Classic? It doesn’t get much better than that. Even better: New York intentionally walked Betts, who’s 0-for-5 against Nestor Cortes in his career, to pitch to Freeman, who was 1-for-3 off Cortes. Nailed it, Aaron Boone. 

Teoscar HernandEez could’ve been a Red Sox. The Dodgers star said he almost signed with Boston in free agency last offseason but chose L.A. because the Dodgers were clearly going all-in to win. Now he’s clubbing World Series home runs while the Red Sox watch from the couch. Take it away, Bob Lobel!

ON THIS DAY | OCTOBER 28, 2007/2018

Twice is nice

The Red Sox celebrate two titles. Boston was such a fan of its winning formula from 2004 that it ran the script back for 2007, coming back from a 3-1 ALCS deficit against Cleveland and finishing off a sweep of the Colorado Rockies on this day in 2007. Eleven years later on that same date, the Red Sox won Game 5 of the 2018 World Series to beat old pal Roberts and the Dodgers. If October 27 -– the day the curse was broken — is the best day in Sox history, October 28 is right up there with it.

THE BEST THING I SAW IN SPORTS

Payton’s playground

🔥 Payton Pritchard takes a kid to school. The Celtics sharpshooter’s wife caught him roasting a young man during a quick one-on-one session in the park while walking their dog. That kid will tell his kids one day about the time a Boston Celtic hit a fadeaway on him. Ball is life.

🗞 That’s a wrap. I’m off to copy Pritchard’s all-white fit. Not to play ball in — just to look cool.

🏆 We asked, you answered … 63% of you who responded Friday said the ‘04 Red Sox winning it all is your favorite Boston championship moment. Hard to argue with that.

🙌 Special shoutout to today's sponsor, Flexcar, for supporting local journalism and making transportation more affordable and accessible in Boston.

📲 Keep up with us @BSideSports on IG, TikTok, and X. Send comments and suggestions to [email protected].