Mac Jones’ time in New England didn’t go as planned, and one former Patriots running back is blaming Bill Belichick for the quarterback’s shortcomings.
During a recent appearance on “The Athletic Football Show,” Damien Harris called out his former coach for how things turned out with Jones, as well as Belichick’s last few years with the six-time Super Bowl champions.
“What happened to Mac Jones in New England, was not because of Mac Jones,” Harris told host Robert Maye. “What happened in New England to Mac Jones was because of the fact you took away an offensive coordinator who coached him to be a Pro Bowler and almost coached us to winning our division with a rookie quarterback in his first year.”
Ahead of the 2022 season, Belichick elected to have Matt Patricia — a defensive-minded coach — run the offense. Joe Judge also helped with offense after the departure of Josh McDaniels — who Jones had a strong rookie season under in 2021. Things didn’t go well, to say the least.
“You just throw them in there and say, ‘Hey, coach this kid up. He’s a first round pick, but as long as you teach him what I say, everything gonna be fine,’” Harris said. “(Expletive) wasn’t fine.”
Jones had 24 touchdowns to 23 interceptions in his final two seasons. He didn’t look comfortable — especially under pressure — and made several throws that made him still look like a rookie.
Harris revealed that it felt as if Judge and Patricia were taking plays from “Madden.” And they changed the wording of the plays they did keep from the playbook. The former running back said he and his teammates “knew before the first game” that the offense was not going to be successful.
There were meetings held by leaders on the Patriots offense to discuss how they could bring their concerns to Belichick. They were already concerned with the offense, but anything brought up to Belichick appeared to fall on deaf ears.
“If anybody had anything to say about it, it was (met with) a very, very quick, swift, ‘Shut the (expletive) up,’” Harris said to Maye. “‘I know what I’m doing.’ And that’s it.’”
After a Pro Bowl season in 2021, Jones went on the decline and slowly began to unravel. He was benched a slew of times in 2023 for Bailey Zappe before he eventually became the starter over Jones. By the time Week 17 rolled around, communication between Jones and Belichick was essentially non-existent.
“The breath of Mac Jones in New England — it came and went. It shouldn’t have (gone) the way that it went,” Harris said. “The only reason that it did was because Bill Belichick, being stuck in his ways, was very much so ‘As long as I am here. As long as I am, along with Robert Kraft, the top dog at this organization. We will have success.’”
But Belichick’s decline didn’t start with Jones. It started when the Patriots signed Cam Newton because the coach “thought he could make it work.” It didn’t work, and that’s when New England drafted Jones in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
New England parted ways with Belichick shortly after and traded Jones to the Jacksonville Jaguars in March. Belichick’s final two seasons resulted in losing records, including 4-13 last year.
Belichick didn’t get a head coaching job in the 2024 cycle, something that didn’t surprise Harris because of his Belichick “being stuck in his ways.”
“And I think that just at the stage of his career that he’s in, I think that what he was expecting to be handed to him versus what people were willing to give him — in retrospect, I think that maybe they just didn’t align,” Harris said.
Despite being harsh on his former coach, Harris admitted he loved playing for Belichick while he played for the Patriots.
Harris and Belichick are both beginning a different phase in their lives. Harris retired in March at the age of 27, while Belichick — despite being shut out of the 2024 coaching cycle — will begin a career in media as a recurring guest on “The Pat McAfee Show” and be a permanent guest on the “ManningCast.”