Midway through his Friday morning press conference, Patriots coach Jerod Mayo took a curious detour.

He pivoted, voluntarily, from discussing the merits of choosing a go-ahead two-point conversion versus a game-tying extra point to his personal growth as a head coach.

“Just like a player, you expect players – they make their biggest jump from year one to year two. My expectation for me personally as a head coach is to make the biggest jump from year one to year two,” he said. “And that’s through doing those deep dives when you actually have time to do them.”

A follow-up question then begged the obvious: does Mayo have a list of deep dives he wants to take?

Mayo cut the question off early: “One-hundred percent.”

Like what?

“It’s a combination of things,” he began. “Look, you can start with X’s and O’s. You can then go to situational football. You can also go to structure and culture. Do I think I’ve done things right? Absolutely. Are there ways to improve? 1,000%. Do I wish I would have done certain things differently? Yeah. But those are things that when you get a chance, you get time to reflect.

“I’m going to go somewhere where no one can find me, just by myself, no kids, no nothing, and just reflect on the season. I think it’s important not only for football players, (but) for anyone to take those times to reflect and see what you can do better.”

Well, why wait?

Based on Mayo’s public comments to date and the Patriots’ struggles at 2-7, here are some items that could be atop his growing to-do list.

1. Staff changes

The obvious place to start.

Most rookie head coaches shake up their staffs after Year 1, and virtually all head coaches do after a season that results in five or fewer wins, which appears to be the Patriots’ destiny in 2024. But setting league-wide trends aside, there’s reason to believe Mayo has already decided he will make changes.

A week before he revealed the existence of his offseason to-do list, Mayo hinted his coaching staff may not be entirely rowing in the same direction. Mayo did so while answering a question about player leadership, and whether that would factor into the Patriots’ thinking when deciding to trade players like Jonathan Jones and Kendrick Bourne ahead of the NFL’s trade deadline for draft picks.

Obviously, more picks would theoretically accelerate the Patriots rebuild, but considering the fragile state of Mayo’s new program and culture, keeping veterans like Jones and Bourne could help reinforce habits and attitudes in the locker room. Mayo agreed, and noted it also helps to have assistants who share in his vision, as well.

“I do think that’s important,” he said. “I also would say I think it’s important with the coaches as well, to bring in guys that really believe in the culture and where we’re trying to go.”

So who might be on their way out?

Like any team in any losing season, look at the coaches in charge of position groups that have underperformed: wide receivers (Tyler Hughes) and offensive line (Scott Peters). Then, there are the new assistants who didn’t grow up in New England (defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery and outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins). And, of course, the “head coach” of the league’s 30th-ranked offense: offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt.

2. Scheme changes

If the Patriots make coaching changes this offseason — which appears to be increasingly likely — the next domino to fall will be their playbooks.

Retracing Mayo’s comments above, scheme is the first place he started when discussing his offseason areas of change.

“Look, you can start with X’s and O’s….”

Arguably, Mayo started dropping hints weeks ago with his post-game press conferences. Early on after losses, Mayo said the offense must attack more downfield.

Then, he declared they must create more explosive plays.

Now, the Patriots must improve up front with their run-blocking. Akin to the 2022 season, they’ve failed to establish a new, outside zone run game and reverted back to downhill, man-blocked plays (like power and duo). Is this what Mayo is referring to?

Most of the offense’s failings to date can be traced to lackluster talent. Setting aside Drake Maye, no front office is swapping offensive rosters with the Patriots. But the coaching, unequivocally, has underwhelmed, and the scheme is partly to blame.

Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt talks with Jacoby Brissett during the fourth quarter of a game against the Seattle Seahawks at Gillette Stadium on Sept. 15. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)

3. Messaging

In recent weeks, Mayo has become more tight-lipped in his press conferences, a stark contrast to earlier this season. What does that matter?

If Mayo finds less is more with the media — which is often true — might he find the same within his team meetings? Because speaking to reporters is the easy part. Convincing a group of 70-80 alpha-male football players that you can light a path to winning is the hard part, especially while losing six in a row, as the team did earlier this year.

One longtime veteran told the Herald he can see Mayo is “evaluating everything” about his program in his first year. Messaging, naturally, is part of that, and it may not even be how he runs his meetings. Mayo referred to a new concept — “Focus Friday” — in the same aforementioned press conference Friday; yet another slogan within a program that has replaced the “Do Your Job” catch-all that worked for Bill Belichick with several sayings, ideas and mantras painted on the walls of Gillette Stadium.

Could another offseason review require a fresh paint job?

4. Game management

Through nine weeks, Mayo is one of the NFL’s most conservative coaches on fourth down.

Near the end of the Pats’ loss at Tennessee, he chose to drive into the wind, which may have affected Drake Maye’s game-ending interception and could have influenced a potential game-tying kick. Mayo said the wind changed from the start of the game before the end; an answer that failed to account for what it was like at the start of overtime.

The Patriots have also struggled to score before halftime, failing three times to finish two-minute drills.

Chances are Mayo will study these critical areas sometime this offseason. Or, at least you’d hope.

Faster, harder practices

The New England Patriots warm up during practice at Gillette Stadium. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)

In practices this week, Jerod Mayo said the Patriots planned to work with a greater sense or urgency. More specifically, that meant running the football and running from drill to drill.

His assistants and players confirmed as much to the Herald this week.

“It was definitely emphasized this week,” Pats running backs coach Taylor Embree said. “Physicality, strain and effort were emphasized this week. We did some drills, half-line drills, just focusing on that. But again, it’s a mindset. We’ve just got to get together, so we go out there, punch ’em in the mouth and then let (Rhamondre Stevenson) go, because, you know, (Stevenson) is ready to roll right now.”

Stevenson’s backup, Antonio Gibson, said Mayo stressed urgency in Wednesday morning’s team meeting. He sensed the new emphasis was a result of studying the offense’s tape at Tennessee and seeing an operation that was too relaxed for the coaches’ liking.

“After the game, when you watch (the tape), you start to see it: not getting to the line fast enough, not giving Drake (Maye) enough time to make the calls he needs to make, not getting set, causing penalties,” Gibson said.

During a padded practice on Wednesday, Gibson said that translated with coaches running one new drill and players hustling more between periods.

“The sense of urgency between reps, in between periods, getting where you’ve gotta go,” he said, “and being able to lock in and do what you need to do.”

Does he think that will help the team on Sunday?

“You always give yourself a better chance if you attack practice, the way you would want to attack the game,” he said. “I feel like we had a great week of practice, with the minor things that we need to correct.”

Remember me?

Ex-Jets and current Patriots running backs coach Taylor Embree takes part in drills with running back Breece Hall (20) at the NFL team’s practice facility in Florham Park, N.J., Thursday, July 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Before he became one of the NFL’s oldest active players at age 40, Bears tight end Marcedes Lewis was a babysitter.

That’s how Patriots running backs coach Taylor Embree first remembers him.

In Dec. 2004, Lewis played at UCLA under Embree’s father, who asked the young tight end to watch his two sons ahead of an upcoming bowl game in Las Vegas. Near the end of a long week of bowl-related events and team gatherings, UCLA players and coaches settled into a dinner at a local Dave & Buster’s. Embree, then a teenager, remembers playing arcade games with Lewis and another former Bruin and longtime NFL veteran: running back Maurice Jones-Drew.

“I used to beat both of them in the pop-a-shot basketball game,” Taylor said with a chuckle this week. “And I used whoop Maurice Drew in Madden. You can tell him that.”

On Sunday, Embree, 36, will coach against Lewis and the Bears in Chicago. After Lewis originally entered the league as a first-round draft pick in 2006, the two remained in contact, and Embree began his own college career at UCLA in 2008. Later, Embree returned to the program as a coaching assistant in 2013, and broke into the NFL a few years later, coaching against Lewis for the first time in 2016.

“We talk every now and then,” Embree said of Lewis. “When I was at UCLA, we talked a lot, you know, with recruiting and whatnot. But he’s someone that I’ve followed his whole career.”

Embree joined the Patriots’ coaching staff this offseason after spending the last three years with the Jets.

Quote of the Week

“Yeah, I don’t want to get into specifics on that. I appreciate the question, but that’s for me and my diary.” — Jerod Mayo on what the first items are on his offseason to-do list