Getty Image / Bryan Bennett
This season was a disappointment for the New England Patriots.
The team appeared to be on their way to sustained success after Mac Jones led them to the playoffs as a rookie last season.
That turned out to not be the case.
The team lost their offensive coordinator during the offseason and decided not to actually replace him. Instead they turned to a former defensive coordinator and former special teams coordinator to lead the offense.
It didn’t work. The offense struggled throughout the year and Mac Jones appeared to regress. Things got so bad that fans began to call for Bailey Zappe to be given the starting job.
Despite those calls from the fans, it appears Jones still has the support of the Patriots locker room.
The Boston Sports Journal’s Greg Bedard discussed the Patriots’ locker room situation yesterday while appearing on The Sports Hub’s Felger and Mazz Show.
Podcast: Bedard on Patriots-Bills and Pats' future with Felger & Mazz 01.10.23 https://t.co/tcErN2bBGv
— Greg A. Bedard (@GregABedard) January 10, 2023
Mac has universal support in the locker room. And the players on both sides of the ball — especially offense — realize the position they were put in this season. They were not put in a position to succeed. I think it was a problem this year. We’ll see what happens — if Bill [Belichick] does anything more in private.
Instead, the locker room appears to be unhappy with Bill Belichick for the situation they were put in this year.
But I think the lack of accountability by the head coach on him putting players in these positions, specifically how Bill handled the whole Bailey Zappe situation — that did not go over well in the locker room with Mac’s teammates. And I think there’s an issue there, and I don’t think further throwing Mac Jones under the bus is going to help that.
The New England Patriots’ players and fans have to be hoping that this divide leads to the team making some changes to their offensive coaching staff.