Ex-QB Blames Bill Belichick’s ‘Coaching Malpractice’ For Mac Jones’ Struggles
ESPN 'Get Up' panel agreed Jones continues to progress backwards
The Patriots suffered an embarrassing loss to the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium last Sunday, and fans once again are asking themselves if Mac Jones’ days in New England are numbered.
Head coach Bill Belichick didn’t make a big deal out of inserting backup Bailey Zappe in the third quarter of the Week 4 matchup, and Jones supported Zappe while also vowing to be better heading into the Patriots’ matchup against the New Orleans Saints at Gillette Stadium.
But a 1-3 start has New England fans and NFL pundits wondering who deserves most of the blame: Belichick or Jones?
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Robert Griffin III had a direction for where criticism should fall.
“… Mac Jones is not a creator, but they’re asking him to create,” Griffin said on ESPN’s “Get Up” on Tuesday. “So that starts with the scheme. When you look at what he did in 2021, had the No. 6 offense in the NFL. Who was his coordinator? Josh McDaniels. One of the best OCs we’ve ever seen in this league. Now you move forward to this year, and they have one of the worst offenses in the league. But what’s the difference? Well in 2021, they were doing play-action 27% of the time. That’s the type of player Mac Jones is. Right now, they are doing it 14% of the time. … For me, this comes down to coaching.
“In Year 2, Bill Belichick messed up his young quarterback. When you give him a defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator as his offensive coordinator and now he’s on his third coordinator in three years in the NFL, that is, to me, the epitome of coaching malpractice. And Bill Belichick’s one of the greatest coaches we’ve ever seen. He’s arguably the greatest coach of all time in NFL history, but he really overthought this, and it’s hurt Mac Jones permanently in my opinion.”
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Bill O’Brien was brought on this past offseason to attempt to rectify Jones’ development but the reported internal debate between O’Brien and Belichick on the identity of New England’s offense could have damaged Jones’ offseason work in the first four games of the season.
The panel didn’t go as far as their colleague Rex Ryan in their criticism of Jones, but they all agreed the set-up of the Patriots does not fit Jones’ skillset. If the 25-year-old continues to not produce results, New England could seek out another successor to Tom Brady.
