Patriots’ Coach Jerod Mayo watches a replay during the first half of a game against the Rams on Sunday in Foxborough, Mass. Michael Dwyer/Associated Presso

Head coaches/managers in professional sports often say they are hired to be fired. That’s part of the deal when you make it to the top in sports.

The Patriots and Bruins are not sitting at the top of their respective standings. And Jerod Mayo and Jim Montgomery are sitting on seats that are getting warmer.

Mayo came under criticism for his coaching decisions in a 28-22 loss to the Rams on Sunday. After an impressive start, Mayo seemed to be outcoached by veteran Sean McVay. Mayo’s conservative coaching style allowed an elite Los Angeles offense to get back on the field and grab a lead it never relinquished.

“How the game was called on defense was ultimately why the Patriots lost this game,” former Patriot Ted Johnson said on Patriots Postgame Live after the game.

Johnson spent 10 years as a Patriot linebacker, retiring four years before Mayo began his playing career with the same team at the same position.

Montgomery’s Bruins were .500 heading into Monday night’s game with Columbus. He is in the final year of his contract with Boston, leading to plenty of speculation that his lame-duck status could lead to an early exit from Boston.

The third-year Bruins coach has tried to coax more out of his team. He has benched superstar David Pastrnak. He has juggled the lines on a team that is in the bottom five in scoring. He has called his team out for not being prepared.

Bruins’ Coach Jim Montgomery looks on from the bench with centers John Beecher (19) and Patrick Brown (38) during the first period of a Nov. 14 game against the Stars in Dallas. LM Otero/Associated Press

So far, it hasn’t worked. And if the Bruins can’t string together a solid two weeks he may find himself looking for work soon.

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Congrats to Portland native Chris Holt, who is the the new bullpen coach of the Red Sox. Holt comes to Boston after six seasons with the Orioles. Holt started his college career as a pitcher at Saint Joseph’s College in Standish. He was drafted by the Pirates out of Flagler College in Florida.

Holt played high school baseball at Deering and Cheverus and American Legion ball under Mike D’Andrea.

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If you look at the Red Sox’s printable schedule for 2025 you might have a little trouble figuring out who the Sox are playing in six September games. The two series are sandwiched around a familiar weekend against the Yankees. That series is represented by the familiar three-letter city code NYY.

The road games leading into that weekend, and the home series after it, show the letters ATH. Even those of us who cover the team and check the schedule constantly needed an extra moment to figure out whether or not Boston was playing Athens.

In fact, those games are against the no-longer-Oakland Athletics. The A’s have said goodbye to Oakland for good and will play their home games Sutter Health Park in Sacramento, home of the AAA Sacramento River Cats.

Stunningly, the A’s aren’t the only major league team playing in a minor-league park this season. The Tampa Bay Rays will call George Steinbrenner Field in Florida home. The Rays will be sharing a minor-league park with their AL East rival Yankees after Tropicana Field’s roof was blown out by Hurricane Milton.

I’ve long said an American East team would thrive in Montreal. The Expos were doomed by a National League schedule that had no regional interest. A schedule featuring 13 games against the nearby Blue Jays, Red Sox and Yankees could create a robust environment for the sport in a baseball-hungry city.