One must go. Mac Jones has outstayed his welcome in New England– and Bill Belichick isn’t great either for the Patriots if he insists on keeping the same old.
An empire fallen. Some point to the University of Alabama as a dynasty in decline but there’s no better example of what once was than Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. A 1-5 start, a second straight Mac Jones benching, and a 34-0 shutout at home by the Saints has all led to major questions.
Including the unthinkable: Could Bill Belichick be fired?
Make no doubt about it, these are not the same Patriots as in years past. These are not the same Patriots that won six Super Bowls. There are not the same Patriots that were regarded as some of the best teams in NFL history. Most notably, these are not the same Patriots that had Tom Brady.
Instead, they’re left with Mac Jones, whose tenure in New England got off to a fast start but recently has been anything but serviceable. Through the last two games alone, the Pats have been outscored 72-3– unacceptable at any level of football.
Whereas quarterbacks in similar situations have had more success than Mac Jones, he himself has struggled to put together anything noteworthy. In just three seasons of play, Jones has been benched more times than any Patriots fan would care to remember– a situation that has degraded year by year.
In Jones’ rookie season he made the Pro Bowl with 3,801 yards and 22 touchdowns. Numbers which only took a sophomore season tumble with 2,997 yards and 14 touchdowns. Now, facing a 1-5 record and an embarrassing loss to the Raiders, Jones may have been playing for his job.
Over his last two blowout losses, Jones has completed 55.8% of his passes for 130 passing yards, zero touchdowns and four interceptions. Combined with a passer rating of 35.0, it’s the worst two-game span of his career, and New England has seen 13 of its 25 offensive drives end after three or fewer plays during this stretch.
“I’m confident,” Jones said after the game. “I think that comes from years of experience and earning respect from people. I think I’ve done that. But once again I’m trying to win every game I play in, and I’m not doing it, so I just really want to focus on: How can I bring these guys with me, how can we clean up the little things? It takes all 11, and that’s important. And to be the leader of that 11 is a lot of stress, but that’s why I play this game. I really want to win, and I’m doing a lot of things to do that during the week, but for whatever reason, it’s just not happening on Sundays.”
It’s clear that Jones isn’t Tom Brady’s heir apparent, but it could swing to the other side of the aisle for keeping up with the Jones experiment for too long.
WHAT CHRISTIAN GONZALEZ BRINGS: Here’s How Christian Gonzalez Fits Into The Patriots’ Defense
As much as he has been a staple in the league, Bill Belichick deserves just as much blame for instigating the issue as Mac Jones himself. The team has had options behind Jones. The most plausible of which came in the form of an in-season mini quarterback battle between Jones and Western Kentucky 2022 rookie Bailey Zappe.
In 2022, the Patriots have a new unutilized toy in Louisville dual-threat Malik Cunningham. NFL insider Ian Rappoport reported that the Patriots did have packages installed for speedster Cunningham, but failed to use them against their 21-17 loss in Las Vegas. Cunningham has been on the practice squad for the entirety of the year up until a couple days ago when he was signed to the active roster.
However, the Patriots intended to use Cunningham in more of a utility player way. In terms of true Mac Jones threats, the Patriots added West Virginia alum and former Carolina Panther Will Grier to the mix from the Bengals after a strong preseason showing.
The decision to switch quarterbacks must be made soon and with brevity or what was once a fleeting hypothetical may come to light– the fact that Bill Belichick might be on the hot seat. Robert Kraft has stuck with Belichick for over 23 years. But that was when times are good.
In the NFL, hard times never usually last because the people who stick with them are fired. It’d be comical to say it’s not the case here. Belichick has routinely neglected the offense, leaving Mac Jones without a number one receiver, or even a formidable one at the bare minimum, with the imaginative and hopeful belief that offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien would be able to magically fix an offense that would struggle to make a FCS roster.
Belichick’s old school coaching style is a direct juxtaposition to the way the NFL is heading. His archaic defensive mentality is quickly falling into obsolescence as a lowly Jimmy Garoppolo tore a high-paid and supposedly masterclass defense into shreds.
So did Derek Carr. And Dak Prescott.
For most of his tenure in New England, Belichick has been the team whisperer. Taking maybe the most unlikely team with players like Julian Edelman, Jonas Gray, and Malcolm Butler to new heights. However with a team that is genuinely bad, a laughingstock– the question gets even more intense.
How deep does Belichick’s pedigree and history go? Has he actually proven he can turn around teams or has he just ridden off the mutual coattails of Tom Brady and the rest of a solid offense?
Mac Jones is already on a short leash.
How long before Bill Belichick gets one too?
