The New England Patriots will kick off their new era, both at coach and quarterback.
For the first time in decades, Bill Belichick won’t be calling the shots in Foxboro, and Jerod Mayo will have a new franchise quarterback to develop.
Drake Maye might not be ready for the start of the season or to play in his first year at all, but the Patriots cannot afford to take the same approach they took with Mac Jones.
Jones looked like a promising player before his development hit plenty of walls, and he’s not even on the team anymore.
Former Patriots RB Damien Harris blamed Belichick for Jones’ struggles, and he didn’t hold back on him.
In his recent appearance on The Athletic Football Show, Harris claimed that Belichick was stuck in his own ways, and he ended up hurting Jones (via Los Pats Talks).
Former #Patriots RB Damien Harris says Bill Belichick being “stuck in his ways” caused Mac Jones to fail in New England.
“What happened to Mac Jones in New England, was not because of Mac Jones… (it) was because of the fact you took away an offensive coordinator who coached him… pic.twitter.com/KyhzGXMLpV
— Carlos Talks Pats (@LosTalksPats) June 6, 2024
He thinks that replacing Josh McDaniels with Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, who coached defense and special teams, only hurt their young quarterback’s development.
Jones looked poised to have a long and successful career in New England, yet the team didn’t put him in a position to succeed, and once he started struggling, Belichick’s mind games only hurt him even more.
Harris believes Belichick’s ego and demeanor got in the way of his young quarterback’s development, eventually losing his spot on the team.
It’s hard to argue with any of the things he said, and those things also ended up sealing Belichick’s exit from the team.
