Joe Dickinson, who has worked with Jones for 14 years, gave insight into the young passer and his lack of development.
Coming off back-to-back underwhelming seasons, Mac Jones’ tenure as New England Patriots quarterback might be coming to an end sooner rather than later. This presents a disappointing turn of events for a player who managed to show considerable promise as a rookie starter in 2021.
So, what happened? And who is to blame? There are no easy or clear-cut answers to those questions, but Jones’ long-time personal quarterbacks coach has some theories.
For Joe Dickinson, who recently appeared on a must-see episode of the Patriots Talk podcast, the fault lies with everyone involved — from the young QB failing to perform under increasing pressure and losing his confidence along the way, to the Patriots, whose consistent coaching turnover hurt Jones’ development.
“Playing quarterback is the hardest thing to do, and if there is any erosion of the confidence or an erosion of what you feel like is support — it’s the ultimate team sport,” Dickinson said. “We’re all going to put this on Mac, and I’ve looked at the tape putting it on Mac, but he has to throw to somebody, and he has to be protected by five to seven guys to help him make a successful play. It’s the ultimate team sports, and there were factors in it.”
Dickinson, a former quarterback and long-time coach at the collegiate level, acknowledged that he has a dog in this fight: Jones, whom he had coached for the last 14 years. Nonetheless, he pointed out that the quarterback himself also did not hold up his end of the bargain.
Things started to go sideways in 2022 before reaching a breaking point in 2023. Jones threw 12 interceptions in his first 11 starts and eventually was benched in favor of backup Bailey Zappe, with whom the offense looked only marginally better if that.
Dickinson noted that of those 12 picks, eight saw Jones’ feet move “in the wrong direction” either due to real or perceived pressure.
“What happens as a quarterback, you start feeling ghosts out there,” he said. “It happens. It’s real. It’s no different than a great golfer who decides he can’t hit his driver anymore. Confidence. And people helped and contributed to that lack of confidence.”
For Dickinson, one play in particular stood out: a red zone interception late in the fourth quarter of a 10-6 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Germany. Jones had tight end Mike Gesicki open but drifted back — another issue with his footwork — and underthrew his intended target before ultimately getting benched before the final drive.
“I think he broke on that play,” Dickinson said. “I just think the pressure of the situation got to him.”
Joining the Patriots as the 15th overall selection in 2021, Jones was coming off an outstanding senior year at Alabama but there were concerns about his game. Not having a top-tier arm and poise under pressure were two of the main critiques of his game heading toward the pro level, but New England managed to mask those relatively well in his rookie campaign.
Once offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Josh McDaniels departed after that season, however, things started going wrong. In 2022, the Patriots decided to trust Matt Patricia and Joe Judge — a former defensive and special teams coordinator, respectively — with his development.
The experiment failed, and put Jones on the track he found himself on in 2023 as well.
“I think he didn’t feel like he had anybody on the coaching staff that could help him to get him out of jams that you automatically get yourself in as a quarterback,” Dickinson explained. “I mean, there were guys learning on the job there. They’re great coaches, don’t get me wrong. Those guys are documented, good coaches, but they were both in the first year. They were coaching, being an offensive coordinator and being a quarterback coach.
“He didn’t feel like at that time he had a guy that could say, ‘Hey, I got your back here. I’m going to help you out of this situation that you’re in. I’m going to make trying to make you a better player.’ How are you going to do that when you’re you’ve never actually done that as a coach? It would be what I would call coaching out of position. Great coaches, coaching out of position.”
Even with the since-departed Bill O’Brien coming aboard last offseason — adding yet another element of change to Jones’ development — little changed for Jones in 2023. The decline that started the previous year continued.
The 2022 season therefore laid the groundwork for the two sides now possibly being headed for a split. With the Patriots picking third overall in the 2024 draft, they might just target one of this year’s highly-touted prospects to replace Jones as the next QB hopeful.
Whether that will indeed happen, or Jones will get another opportunity under new head coach Jerod Mayo, remains to be seen. Dickinson, however, still feels strongly about the 25-year-old as a future NFL starting quarterback.
“We have a saying: famous or forgotten. Right now, he might be forgotten, but one day again he’ll be famous.”
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