Some believe the New England Patriots failed former quarterback Mac Jones.
His latest comments during an appearance on “Bussin’ With The Boys” made it clear where he believes the first major crack formed.
Jones said he entered his second season believing the Patriots had something worth building.
He pointed to an offense that had shown real signs of life and a defense that was good enough to keep New England competitive.
Then offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels left to become head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, and Jones said that “really affected” him because he felt another year in the same system would have helped him and the team.
Jones’ discussion highlighted the fact that the Patriots had a young first-round passer, a playoff roster and a proven offensive structure.
But the whole thing can be blown up by a single coach leaving.
If anything, we realized how much McDaniels’ was worth.
Jones Had More to Build on Than People Remember
It has become easy to look back on Mac Jones as a failed Patriots experiment, but his rookie season was not a failure.
Jones threw for 3,801 yards, 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 2021. The Patriots went 10-7 and reached the playoffs before a lopsided wild-card loss.
The Patriots were not explosive in the modern sense, but they were functional, ranking sixth in points and 15th in yards in 2021, with McDaniels as offensive coordinator.
Then came the strange reset.
CBS Sports reported before the 2022 season that the Patriots did not name an official offensive coordinator after McDaniels left. Joe Judge became quarterbacks coach, while Matt Patricia was named offensive line coach and senior football adviser despite limited recent offensive coaching experience.
That setup became one of the defining mistakes of the late Bill Belichick era.
CBS Boston later cited reporting from The Boston Herald that detailed dysfunction between Jones and Judge, while also noting the challenge of Patricia and Judge trying to run and install offensive concepts that were not natural fits for their backgrounds.
Coaching blame aside, Jones also did not elevate the structure around him, and his play declined.
Patriots Have a Drake Maye Lesson Built Into Jones’ Regret
The Patriots have already lived the bad version of quarterback development: draft the passer, get one encouraging year, change the system and watch the offense lose its identity.
Now, McDaniels is back in New England, and NFL.com later credited McDaniels with helping turn the Patriots’ offense around, detailing New England improved from 30th in points per game in 2024 to second in 2025.
With Drake Maye now carrying the franchise, the Patriots cannot afford to make that mistake twice.
In the end, the Patriots do not have to pretend Jones was going to become a franchise quarterback if McDaniels stayed.
Nobody can prove that.
But they also should not ignore the bigger truth.
Young quarterbacks need continuity, clarity and a system that lets them stack years instead of starting over.
Jones thought the Patriots had something “kinda cool” in 2021.
They never got to find out what it could become.
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