Jerod Mayo on Wednesday formally was introduced as Patriots head coach, but one question on the minds of fans was whether Mac Jones’ appearance was significant.
The New England quarterback was one of multiple current players in attendance, and it’s most likely he simply wanted to celebrate the moment with a coach who is among the most popular in the locker room. But the Patriots have a monumental opportunity with the No. 3 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. If they go quarterback, what does that mean for Jones and Bailey Zappe’s futures? Jones had his worst season as a pro and that was after he had ill-prepared offensive play-callers.
Mayo made it clear he would be different from Bill Belichick but didn’t go into much detail about his vision as head coach. What does he think about Jones? Robert Kraft reportedly was very high on the third-year signal-caller and saw him as a proper successor to Tom Brady. Has that changed?
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Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Bill O’Brien this week left New England to take the Ohio State offensive coordinator position. These events led Scott Zolak to come up with an interesting theory.
“I love Josh McDaniels, but I think Josh is honestly going to go with Bill (Belichick),” the former Patriots quarterback said on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Zolak and Bertrand.” “But if they jump on this and hire Josh back, they might not be taking a quarterback at the top. They might be bringing him back to try and rekindle what Mac Jones did at $2.7 million and you could get Bo Nix in a second round or something. I’m telling you. I just look at everything and take everything into consideration.
“He was one of three players at Mayo’s introductory press conference. Who told him to go there? He’s around. Like at the end of the year, we just all assume he’s gone. We’re never going to see him again. He’s visible at the most important transfer of power that this organization has had in 24 years. If they go and hire McDaniels, I’m just telling you — and I’ve heard this from somebody else — don’t be shocked if (Mac is) here next year. Which would tell me they’re not going to invest at number three because Josh is going to run the same old offense. Now, they’ll have other tweaks to it, but my expectations would be Mac would be a placeholder and you would develop a guy because you’re not spending a top-three pick on him. You’re going to go get a guy like (Marvin Harrison Jr.) or you’re going to get the tackle.”
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Zolak’s insight is based on his relationships around the league and within the Patriots organization. He isn’t always right; he surmised that Mike Vrabel’s firing was bad for Mayo, which it turned out it wasn’t.
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There are mixed opinions on this year’s quarterback class, and LeGarrette Blunt said on NESN’s “Ultimate Betting Show” that he’d be in favor of New England drafting Michael Penix Jr., who projects to be a Day 2 pick.
McDaniels’ return certainly would signal the Krafts’ desire to remain in the status quo but one that doesn’t include Belichick, who reportedly is trying to bring multiple former coaches and assistants with him on his next team.
The big question will be how Mayo and the Krafts want to proceed with the Patriots and Jones’ future.
Featured image via Paul Rutherford/USA TODAY Sports Images
