Patriots rumors: Belichick honors Brady, Mac Jones trust, Zeke doubts

New England Patriots rumors: Mac Jones and Bill O’Brien trust each other

After being subjected to essentially a clown show from an offensive coaching staff standpoint a season ago, Patriots quarterback Mac Jones seems to be in a much better place with Bill O’Brien as his offensive coordinator. While Jones did not play for him at Alabama, O’Brien and he are well-versed in all things Nick Saban and Bill Belichick. They have common “enemies”, but it is all good!

Here is a bit of what Jones told Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated about working with O’Brien.

"“We speak the same language. He used to coach for Belichick and [Nick] Saban, and I played for Belichick and Saban. We understand that it’s a tough place to play. In practice, everything’s going to be hard. You’ve got defensive head coaches, so they’re trying to make it hard on you. We love the challenge. We speak the same terminology. Sometimes I’ll bring up an old play, and everyone’s like, What’s that? And O’B’s like, It’s this. We’re talking the same language. It’s fun.”"

Together, I would expect Jones and O’Brien to bring life to an otherwise stagnant passing game. While Jones flourished in his final season at Alabama, that was during the height of COVID. He may have thrived playing in Josh McDaniels’ offense as a rookie, but the Patriots’ former offensive coordinator is now in year two as the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. So what’s ahead of us?

I would envision that O’Brien will have little trouble getting his offensive game plan to stick in New England. After all, he worked for Belichick previously, albeit nearly a decade ago. Should Jones play well, then the Patriots have a realistic shot at the postseason. If he were to struggle picking up a scheme he should be well-versed in, well, that might mean it is time for The Bailey Zappe Show!

Either way, Jones will be given a real chance in year three out of Alabama with a real coordinator.