Patriots legend assigns blame for Mac Jones' struggles

Former New England Patriots safety, three-time Super Bowl champion and current NFL analyst Devin McCourty is the latest noteworthy individual to blame the club for how quarterback Mac Jones regressed over the past two seasons. 

"You have three different offensive coordinators in three years," McCourty said about Jones' situation during a Wednesday appearance on the WEEI "The Greg Hill Show," per Mike Kadlick of Audacy. "They had different receivers, and I would say impact players kind of each year. All have been kind of moving parts." 

Jones flashed promise as a rookie during the 2021 campaign working with then-offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels before he became head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. The signal-caller then struggled last season playing under assistants Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, and the offseason hiring of coordinator Bill O'Brien proved to be no quick fix for Jones. 

In total, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick pulled Jones from four of 11 games this season before starting backup Bailey Zappe in Sunday's 6-0 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers that dropped New England to 2-10. It's believed Zappe will remain atop the depth chart when the Patriots play at the 7-5 Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night. 

"...I have no problem with the guys that watch and say, 'Hey, I evaluated this quarterback, his arm strength, his mobility,'" McCourty added about Jones during the segment. "Like if you want to come up with all of those metrics that you think makes a quarterback good and you think he doesn't hit those certain criteria that you like in a quarterback, I get that. But I think. overall, if you say, 'Hey, which side do you see more at fault?' To me, it’s no doubt the organization, what's been put around him, for these straight three years." 

According to ESPN stats, Jones ended Week 13 ranked 27th out of 29 qualified players with a 36.5 adjusted QBR on the season. He tossed 10 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions across 11 games before he was benched seemingly for good. 

It's widely assumed ahead of Christmas that both Jones and Belichick will have different NFL homes when training-camp practices begin next summer.