FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 22: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots speaks with Mac Jones #10 in the second half of the game against the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium on October 22, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
A new report provides a detailed explanation as to how the Bill Belichick-Mac Jones relationship cratered during their final season together in New England.
The Patriots finished a miserable 4-13 in 2023, marking the franchise’s worst record since the 1992 squad that went 2-14. After the regular season, Belichick and owner Robert Kraft held a press conference to announce that the two sides were parting ways after 24 years together.
Much of the frustration in New England stemmed from a woeful offense that averaged 13.9 points per game, the second-worst mark in football. Jones was benched four times in favor of Bailey Zappe, who finished the season as New England’s starting QB.
For a deeply detailed piece at MassLive.com, Mark Daniels spoke to numerous sources who outlined the “broken relationship” between Belichick and Jones. It apparently grew so bad that Belichick stopped talking to the 2021 first-round pick after Week 12.
The relationship, according to Daniels, truly began to fall apart when Jones openly expressed his frustrations with the Matt Patricia-coached offense in 2022:
According to a team source, Jones frustration over the insertion of Patricia, and moving to a more Shanahan-based offense was immediate. Before training camp, he showed resistance to changing offensive systems especially after having success with McDaniels. That drew Belichick’s ire.
As the Patriots offensive scheme changed, the lack of continuity contributed to more mistakes on offense around the quarterback position. Jones grew frustrated by the lack of results while Belichick grew frustrated with his quarterback. With players not on the same page, Jones struggled mentally, which resulted in him playing worse…
After Week 12, when Jones was benched, Belichick eventually stopped speaking to his quarterback. That lack of communication came to a head in the Patriots’ final game.
It created an uncomfortable situation. Jones openly rooted for Zappe trying to show coaches he was handling his demotion maturely. However, behind closed doors, observers noted Jones had little support. It seemed like he was being shut out.
The relationship between Belichick and Jones ended so poorly that sources all but guaranteed Jones wouldn’t be back with the Patriots had Belichick returned. With Jerod Mayo now in charge, the door isn’t shut, sources agreed.”
Jones earned a Pro Bowl nod in his rookie season and led the Patriots to a wild card berth after a one-year absence from the playoffs. But Jones’ downfall began when Belichick curiously brought back Patricia (a coach with a defensive background) and Joe Judge (a special teams background) to run the offense in 2022.
Bringing back old friend Bill O’Brien as the OC did nothing to solve Jones’ woes. He went 2-9 in games started and had 10 touchdowns against 12 interceptions.
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