It’s safe to assume Mac Jones isn’t heartbroken over Bill Belichick floundering on the NFL job market.
MassLive’s Mark Daniels on Monday published a piece detailing Jones’ regression with the Patriots and falling out with Belichick. Daniels reported New England’s legendary head coach and embattled quarterback had “nonexistent” communication by the time Jones was healthy-scratched for the season finale.
“Not only was Jones demoted to third string, but nobody told him,” Daniels reported. “He found out he was inactive when the Patriots released the list 90 minutes before kickoff, according to a team source. Leading up to this game, the quarterback reps were split differently in practice, but no one on the coaching staff told Jones why and no one told him he’d be the team’s emergency third quarterback.”
Daniels added: “Jones privately lamented to locker room confidants that no one talks to him. … ‘It’s a broken relationship,’ described one Patriots source.”
Jones was permanently benched during the Patriots’ Week 12 road loss to the New York Giants. From that point forward, as Bailey Zappe started the final six games, the Jones-Belichick relationship reportedly became even worse.
“After Week 12, when Jones was benched, Belichick eventually stopped speaking to his quarterback,” Daniels wrote. “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.”
Where things go from here remains to be seen. Daniels reported that had Belichick kept his job, there would have been virtually zero chance of Jones returning in 2024. However, with Jerod Mayo now the head coach, the “door isn’t shut” on the 2021 first-round pick staying in New England for another season.
Still, it feels like a breakup would be best for both sides.
