Mac Jones describes relationship with new OC Bill O'Brien
Their paths didn’t cross at Alabama. But a former Crimson Tide offensive coordinator is helping Mac Jones right his career with the Patriots.
Jones, who led the Tide to the 2020 national title, struggled with New England last season. He suffered a sprained ankle. And he got into arguments with his coaches on the field and off. Bill Belichick let go of OC Matt Patricia and hired Bill O’Brien, the one-time head coach of the Houston Texans who spent the past two seasons as Nick Saban’s offensive coordinator.
Mac Jones is enjoying familiarity with the offense. And, reports indicate he’s more at ease on the field thanks to O’Brien’s presence.
“He’s done a great job,” Jones said of O’Brien during an interview with the NFL Network. “I think, obviously, first things first, he’s had a lot of different roles in the NFL — head coach, he’s managed teams, managed people, managed coaches. So, he’s done it all. Obviously (he) was at Alabama and did a great job there.
“He definitely is the same guy every day. He’s super competitive, and I feel like he’s done a great job communicating. That’s been the number one thing for us: open, honest communication. From there, you just correct the things that you need to be better at.”
Headlines out of Foxboro suggest Mac Jones is enjoying a terrific camp, so far. He also had a nice mini-camp. There doesn’t seem to be much chatter suggesting the Patriots will switch starters from Jones to Bailey Zappe. Of course, Belichick was high on Jones last year, too. The quarterback made the Pro Bowl as a rookie. Better things were expected.
Then last fall happened. Jones suffered a high ankle sprain and missed three games. Overall, his quarterback rating dropped from 92.5 during his rookie season to 84.8 last fall. And in December, cameras found him screaming at Patricia on the sidelines.
The Patriots missed the playoffs after finishing 8-9. So Belichick hired O’Brien, his one-time assistant from 2007-11, to guide the offense.
Belichick also added some key free agents, including tight end Mike Gesicki and receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster to help the offense. Plus, the Patriots are looking for another running back. They’ve recently brought in Leonard Fournette and Ezekiel Elliott, although neither has signed.
Mac Jones definitely is more relaxed. When he met with reporters, Thursday, he talked about how there’s a different vibe at training camp.
“Obviously, the plays and the physical stuff is there,” Jones said. “I just have to go out there and try and lead. Really, for me, I’ve always kind of been a fun person, in my opinion. Hopefully people agree. But, that’s why people like to play with me, you know? Because we like to go out there, and have fun and compete.
“So, I just have to be consistent there. I feel like sometimes if I’m not consistent, you can tell, and that’s something that I’m trying to work on. So, I’m just trying to stay the course, but at the same time, have fun and then when bad things happen, just accept it and kind of move on.”