The past two seasons have not exactly gone according to plan for the New England Patriots as quarterback Mac Jones struggled mightily. But one former Patriots player does not seem to think that Jones is to blame for the struggles. Instead, he is blaming the coaching staff.
During a recent interview on The Athletic Football Show, former New England Patriots running back Damien Harris called out a few of the team’s coaches – Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, as well as Bill Belichick for his decision to hire them in the first place – calling the entire offensive coaching staff “a debacle” after the departure of previous offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
“What happened to Mac Jones in New England was not because of Mac Jones,” Harris said according to Boston.com. “What happened in New England to Mac Jones was because of the fact you took away an offensive coordinator who coached him to be a Pro Bowler and almost coached us to winning our division with a rookie quarterback in his first year.
“And then you take — whenever Josh McDaniels left — Matt Patricia, who has coached defenses his entire life, and Joe Judge, who has been a special teams coach, coached receivers at some point. And then you just throw them in there and be like, ‘Hey, coach this kid up. He’s a first-round pick, but as long as you teach him what I say, everything will be fine,’ and [stuff] wasn’t fine.”
Needless to say, the end product was not pretty, and it’s a big reason why Belichick was ultimately replaced as the the head coach.
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