Mac Jones’ ups and downs new England Patriots That streak ended in March when the Jacksonville Jaguars acquired the quarterback in a trade.
Despite helping the Patriots get to a playoff appearance and earning Pro Bowl honors in 2021, Jones’ tenure was largely deemed a failure.
Many have offered their opinions on why the former Alabama quarterback failed to succeed in New England. But one former teammate of Jones pointed to the six-time Super Bowl winner Bill Belichick.
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Mac Jones (left) of the New England Patriots and running back Damien Harris celebrate a touchdown against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on September 19, 2021. (Getty Images)
Harris spent three seasons as a New England running back and played alongside Jones in Alabama for two years.
The running back made an appearance on “The Athletic Football Show” last week and suggested Belichick should take a large portion of the blame as it relates to Jones’ shortcomings.
Bill Belichick’s son explains why he stayed with the Patriots despite father and brother leaving
“Whatever happened to Mac Jones in New England didn’t happen because of Mac Jones,” Harris said. “Whatever happened to Mac Jones in New England happened because of the fact that you fired an offensive coordinator who had coached him to be a Pro-Bowler and almost coached us to win our division with a new quarterback.”
Josh McDaniels was the Patriots’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2021. He was named head coach Las Vegas Raiders In January 2022.
Head coach Bill Belichick and Mac Jones during pregame at Hard Rock Stadium on September 11, 2022 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
“We picked the Mac. We were having a great year … winning seven games in a row. At that point, we were looking like we could maybe win a Super Bowl,” Harris said.
Harris then commented on Belichick’s unconventional decision to hand the keys to the Patriots’ offense to Matt Patricia and Joe Judge.
“Then you take Matt Patricia, who’s coached defense his whole life. Joe Judge, who’s been a special teams coach … and then you throw them out there and say, ‘Hey, coach this kid. He’s a first-round pick, but as long as you teach him what I say, everything will be fine.'”
Harris said Belichick was “stuck in his ways,” and he believes that’s what led to Jones being traded.
New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick prior to Super Bowl LII against the Philadelphia Eagles at US Bank Stadium, Minneapolis. (Simon Bruty/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
“Now Mac Jones is in Jacksonville … the breath of Mac Jones in New England — it came and went. It wasn’t supposed to go the way it did,” Harris continued. “The only reason it happened was because Bill Belichick, stuck to his ways, was very much like ‘As long as I’m here. As long as I’m here, along with Robert Kraft, am the top guy in this organization, no matter who it is, no matter what position, no matter what position, where they coach, no matter what, we’re going to have success.'”
After spending his first nine seasons in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers, the Patriots brought in 2015 NFL MVP Cam Newton in 2020. Harris claimed the decision to add Newton to the roster was at least partly due to Belichick’s ego.
“I think it started with the Cam Newton situation … everybody was thinking, ‘What the (expletive) is this? Why Cam Newton?’ Bill thought he could make it work. But it didn’t really work out.”
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Harris signs one-year deal Buffalo Bills in 2023. He announced his retirement from football in March. Despite his recent comments on Belichick, Harris celebrated the fact that he had the opportunity to play for him in the NFL. He described Nick Saban and Belichick as “the (two) greatest head coaches of all time.”
“Playing football for the last 20 years has been the greatest privilege of my life.” Harris wrote“Representing the name on the back of my jersey on and off the field, competing at the highest level with and against the best competitors while winning championships, and being coached by two of the greatest head coaches of all time in Nick Saban and Bill Belichick are all just a small part of what God has done in my life with the game of football.”
Belichick was the de facto general manager during his long tenure in New England. He reportedly had the final say on the roster during most of his time on the Patriots’ sideline. Patriots and Belichick”mutually agreed In January, after 24 years together, the couple decided to “separate amicably.”
Every NFL team with a vacancy in the recent hiring process did not hire Belichick, leaving him without a head coach position for the first time in decades.
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