Doug Pederson throws shade at Patriots while evaluating Mac Jones' preseason

Doug Pederson is notorious for saying what's on his mind. He doesn't hold any punches back, no matter what the topic of discussion is. He's a vocal leader and it's gained him a ton of respect for doing business that way.

As a result, he often has some very entertaining interviews for the longtime coach. Sometimes, it doesn't even seem as if he's trying to throw shade at other teams or players. It just happens.

This time, it seemed quite direct as Pederson went out of his way to critique one of his least favorite franchises, the New England Patriots.

Doug Pederson throws shade at Patriots while complimenting Mac Jones

Pederson was asked about Mac Jones, the Jacksonville Jaguars new backup quarterback. Jones came over to the Jaguars from the Patriots this offseason after New England finally gave up hope on the young quarterback, opting to go all in with their new rookie, Drake Maye.

“Mac has played extremely well in the last couple of weeks and has really bought into what we do. He’ll still revert back to his Patriots ways every now and then, and we have to remind him he’s in Jacksonville," Pederson said, h/t ESPN's Mike Reiss. "But he’s done a good job managing and running the offense, getting everybody involved. He sees the field well, throws a good ball, so he’s done a good job.”

Pederson threw the nonchalant shot at New England, an organization that has looked bent out of shape ever since Tom Brady left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020. They have seen practice fights and complete disorganization this offseason.

But Pederson is hinting more at the direct coaching that Jones received while with the Patriots. He hints at the idea that their new quarterback is reverting back to his "Patriot ways", which suggests that these are habits that have needed to be broken when he arrived in Jacksonville.

Whatever the changes are, it seems like Jones is a completely new quarterback. He looks a lot more like the player that many expected him to be when he came out of Alabama. Jacksonville is seeing more of the quarterback that Nick Saban raved on and on about as he entered the league.

This preseason, Jones completed 38-of-52 pass attempts for 421 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions.

Jones, obviously, isn't in Jacksonville to compete for a starting job. But he still has plenty of time to turn his career around and the coaching in Jacksonville is seemingly doing that. It seems as though the Jaguars will have a reasonable quarterback option if anything is to happen to Trevor Lawrence this season.