Nick Saban evaluates Mac Jones' Week 2 start in place of Brock Purdy: 'I always thought he could play well'

Mac Jones‘ NFL journey hasn’t been what anybody expected from the former No. 15 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. But after a failed attempt to replace the then six-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady as the New England Patriots‘ starting quarterback, Jones has found a second wind in his first season as Brock Purdy‘s backup with the San Francisco 49ers.

In fact, the 27-year-old Jones — who signed with the 49ers after spending the 2024 season with the Jacksonville Jaguars — is experiencing a bit of a career renaissance in his fifth NFL season. That was evident in last Sunday’s 26-21 road win over the New Orleans Saints, when Jones threw for 279 yards and three touchdowns on 66.7-percent passing during a spot-start in place of an injured Purdy.

It’s the type of performance many expected from the former Alabama quarterback, who led the Crimson Tide to the 2020 College Football Playoff national championship — the last of six in 17 seasons under legendary coach Nick Saban. Jones capped his four-year collegiate career with a historic 2020 season in which he threw a NCAA-best 4,500 yards on 77.4-percent passing with 41 touchdowns and four interceptions.

During his weekly Friday appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Saban addressed Jones’ play last Sunday against the Saints, and suggested his former QB was dealt a bad hand during his three seasons in New England. Saban specifically pointed to the Patriots’ unstable situation at offensive coordinator, including in 2022 when then-coach Bill Belichick named former special teams coordinator and ex-New York Giants head coach Joe Judge as the team’s offensive coordinator despite no prior experience.

Nick Saban on Mac Jones: ‘I think the guy can have a good career’

“I think Mac’s the kind of guy that’s very smart, wants to get it right. So when you have a guy like that, they want to be around a coach that can help them understand what’s expected of them on every play in the game, in every situation in the game. He definitely has that now (at San Francisco), and I think he’s playing well,” Saban said of Jones on Friday. “I always thought he could play well. He played well for us because he had that with us that last year. And I think the guy can have a good career.

“I think it’s unfair to put a guy into a situation … look, I couldn’t be an offensive coordinator. Everybody thinks I was a pretty good head coach, but I was a defensive guy and special teams guy. And if I had to go be an offensive coordinator, it would’ve been Hell to pay for the poor players trying to play offense.”

Jokes aside, it’s clear Jones is in a much better situation in San Francisco where he can learn under 49ers head coach Kyle Shannahan, a noted offensive guru.