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Patriots players praise Jerod Mayo after first career win as head coach

The New England Patriots upset win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1 marked a milestone for Jerod Mayo: his first regular season win as head coach.

The Patriots and Jerod Mayo are 1-0.

New England's upset win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1 came with a blue Gatorade bath and tons of praise from Patriots players for their coach in his first win as an NFL head coach.

Defensive linemen Davon Godchaux and Daniel Ekuale had the honors of dousing their head coach in the sideline celebration after running back Rhamondre Stevenson's first-down play sealed the deal. Veteran center and captain David Andrews ran right from the victory formation to embrace Mayo, and Patriots chairman and CEO Robert Kraft awarded Mayo the game ball.

"Winning as a coach is huge, but not for what it does for me -- for what it does for the players out there," Mayo said after the 16-10 victory.

"I just can't say enough about the players."

Mayo's players couldn't say enough about him, either. Here is how the Patriots reacted to the milestone in their post-game press conferences:

Patriots center David Andrews: "I'll have to ask how it feels (for Mayo), because I know how it feels as a player, but we'll have to see what he likes more. I can't imagine, because you don't have that much control as a head coach, but it was a great job by him getting us ready all week. All of the coaches had a great plan."

Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett: "It's hard to win in this league. He played in this league so he understands how hard it is to win, on the road, and against a good opponent. He was ecstatic, elated -- any word you could think of that means overjoyed. He should be, it's his first one and he got us ready to go."

Patriots defensive end Keion White: "Winning is always good, but doing it for Mayo was something special, for sure. All the hard work we put in, all the running and conditioning on the hills, we're working hard, and it's starting to show because we had to dig deep today."

Patriots safety Kyle Dugger: "The way he's communicated to us and leaned on us as individuals, getting feedback from us, it's been huge. I can't speak for everybody but I know that's meant a lot to me. We've been very receptive to that."

A handful of players, especially defensive veterans like Ja'Whaun Bentley, have had a front seat to Mayo's ascension up the Patriots coaching ranks.

Seeing his journey has only intensified their respect for him.

Patriots linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley: "When Jerod became a coach me and him were working hand-in-hand. He's always been that kind of older brother figure for me. Watching him propel into this head coaching job and how great he's been doing with the transition despite the outside noise, just staying focused and preaching that message throughout the whole team, it's been working for us."

There certainly has been a lot of noise since Mayo took the reigns of the Patriots rebuild. Regardless of the commentary, the players showed trust in their coach.

As some would say, they'd "run through a brick wall for him."

White: "As a guy who has been there, who has won the championships at every level, you just respect that. He wouldn't have you do anything he hasn't done or wouldn't do for himself. He's really like a player's coach. He's relatable. He communicates well with all of us and makes you want to run through a brick wall for him."

Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson: "He's our leader. Great coach. We're behind him 110%. He gives us the fire to go out there and play hard for him and run through brick walls for him."

Brissett had an emotional day himself, and shared a story about the pregame pep talk he received from Mayo that brought him to tears.

Brissett: "Mayo came up to me before the game and started laughing. He said, 'Man you're about to go win us this game. You're about to go ball out.' I never heard that from a coach and that meant a lot to me."

New England will soak up the victory on the plane ride home for Cincinnati, and Mayo will find a nice spot for the football that will forever commemorate his first win calling the shots.

Patriots coach Jerod Mayo: "I'm going to enjoy this one for the next couple of hours but truth be told, this is a 'what have you done for me lately' type of business," Mayo said. "Time to turn the page and get ready for the next game."

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