Bill Belichick could have the chance to ruin Mac Jones all over again in Jacksonville

The New England Patriots fired Bill Belichick a few years too late. It has not been much better under Jerod Mayo — at least not from the W's and L's perspective — but the environment around the team is noticeably better. Belichick created a blatantly toxic locker room in his final years, exercising far too much control over personnel decisions and prioritizing personal vendettas over winning football games.

No player suffered more under Belichick's reign than Mac Jones, who made the Pro Bowl as a rookie, then was promptly undermined by inexplicable coaching decisions and Belichick's ceaseless ego.

The Alabama product spent three seasons in New England, regressing with each passing week after that magical debut campaign. Belichick actively worked against Jones, as illuminated by ESPN's bombshell report on the storied head coach's Foxboro exit back in January. Belichick went out of his way to throw Jones under the bus and tear down his reputation internally. Robert Kraft tried his best to uplift Jones within the organization, which meant that Belichick wanted to prove a point. He kept playing Jones in 2023 well after he had earned a benching, just to rub it in Kraft's face.

That was not a healthy workplace for Jones. Now with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jones has taken over backup duties behind Trevor Lawrence. The Jags are 1-5 after Sunday morning's loss to Chicago, though it's no fault of Jones. That has led to many unanswered questions in the Jacksonville organization — none more pressing than 'is Doug Pederson cooked?'

If this is indeed Pederson's last rodeo, well, don't be shocked if a certain six-time Super Bowl champ starts coming up as a potential replacement candidate.

Bill Belichick could torture Mac Jones even more if Jaguars tab him to replace Doug Pederson

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated recently pointed out all the stars that have aligned in favor of Belichick taking over as Jaguars head coach. Nothing is set in stone, of course, but with Pederson's seat reaching record levels of hot, it feels like an inevitability that Jacksonville will move on. That at least opens the door for Belichick, who we know is desperate to coach again.

In short, Belichick has a close relationship with the son of Jags owner Shad Khan. He has had "the ear of ownership" in the past, encouraging them to remove the interim tag from head coach Doug Morrone back in 2017. Jacksonville also happens to be renovating its stadium, which could encourage the team to bring in an established name with more "credibility."

The Jags aren't the shoo-in contenders we would naturally expect Belichick to gravitate toward, but we are talking about Bill Belichick. There is a 100 percent chance he thinks he can transform the Jags into a contender, especially if ownership is willing to cede control over personnel decisions and let Belichick reign freely over the organization.

Have we reached the point where Belichick has too much baggage to coach another NFL team? Perhaps, but of all the teams with looming coaching vacancies, the Jags are the most obvious fit. The Cowboys and Eagles, sure, but those jobs almost feel too high-profile for Belichick. He also isn't going to have unilateral decision-making power in Dallas or Philadelphia. He would be able to better mold the Jags in his image.

That sure would be an unfortunate outcome for Mac Jones, who has earned a shot to revive his career far away from Belichick's influence. It's safe to say that Belichick's arrival in Jacksonville would coincide with Jones' exit, whether he's straight-up cut or traded for scraps.