It feels like it's been a decade since Mac Jones was under center for the Patriots and looked like he could be the next franchise star and rightful successor to Tom Brady, but it's only been two years since he was traded to the Jaguars in 2024 by the Jerod Mayo regime.
He got some starting opportunities there due to Trevor Lawrence's injury, but has since been with the 49ers and is rebuilding the reputation he once had as a legitimate quarterback with starting potential, so much so that he's become the most talked-about backup to be traded to a QB-needy team this offseason, which is a far cry from where he was after his stint with the Patriots.
In the years since then, he has taken some shots at New England, and while not all have been uncalled for, some have been a little over the top.
Regardless, his latest comments would arguably be understandable to most fans, because who he initially blames for the eventual decline of the Patriots' offense is difficult to argue with. And it all started with Josh McDaniels' departure after the 2021 season.
Mac Jones shares his perspective on what the beginning of the end was for his time in New England
It was clear that whenever McDaniels left the Patriots, whether for another head-coaching opportunity or something else, the offense would struggle under the next offensive coordinator, because the new play-caller would inevitably be very different from McDaniels.
That's exactly what happened when McDaniels was hired to be the Raiders' next head coach, and Jones didn't skim over that detail when talking to the guys at "Bussin' with the Boys" recently.
“And Josh McDaniels ended up leaving. That was kinda step one. Thanks, Josh. He obviously coached us and got that chance to be head coach again and that’s what he wanted to do. And good for him. But I think that really affected me because I felt like if I could have just built on the year before, it would have really helped me and everybody on the team.”
Although it might be fair to say that Jones eventually proved he wasn't the right guy to be the Patriots' long-term solution at quarterback, it wouldn't be fair to say there weren't contributing factors that hastened that outcome.
He went through three offensive coordinators in three years, from McDaniels to Matt Patricia to Bill O'Brien, and dealt with a petty Bill Belichick in his final season that surely made things that much more difficult.
Had there been some sort of consistency from the coaching staff, we probably would have seen a different version of Jones than we did, perhaps something more like what he's been for the 49ers over the last two years.
It might not have been what the Patriots ultimately wanted from their quarterback at the end of the day, but it would have been far better than what Jones looked like at the end of his New England tenure, and that's significantly better.
Regardless, we'll never know what could have been, and maybe it's better that things went the way they did because Jones appears to enjoy his current situation in San Francisco, and the Patriots couldn't be more thankful to have Drake Maye on their roster.
Maybe it was fate. Maybe it was just how things unfolded. But at least both parties are in a better space than they were two years ago, and that's enough to be thankful for.
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