Mac Jones and Bill O’Brien appear to be on the same page so far.

Posted By on June 3, 2023

Mac Jones met with the media after Wednesday’s OTA practice and talked about a variety of things most notably his relationship with new Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien. O’Brien was hired in January to fix the Patriots offense after abysmal tenure of former Patriots offensive assistant and play caller Matt Patricia.

Jones has reportedly had a strong off-season thus far and despite continued speculation that he will have to compete for the starting job, Jones is doing and saying all the right things. As to what his mindset is heading into his third year in the NFL as a starter, Jones is taking a measured and positive approach to things.

“I think every year is a great year to just stay positive and try and gain confidence. Everyone that I’ve talked to that’s either been in year three or older, they say ‘Just keep working and build the confidence through your reps.’ It’s not just confidence from last year, the year before, college, it’s my whole life. So, just continue to do that and working, and doing all the right things.”

As far as how things have gone with O”Brien thus far, Jones seems to be happy and he is saying all the right things.

“It’s been really good. It’s been normal. I think everything he’s done so far has been really good. I think the communication is the most important part, and trust. I think it all starts with that when you’re with a new coach.” Jones added. “He’s done a great job in controlling the room. I feel like everyone’s on the same page. We’ve just got to continue to do it; it’s a marathon, not a sprint. So, we know that, and he’s obviously had great experience in the NFL and at Alabama where I was at, so there’s a lot of good stuff that we’ve talked about, and just looking forward to working with him.” 

Jones frustration with Patricia and the offense was visible last season. He seems to be singing a different tune thus far when it comes to O’Brien. Especially when it comes to the new offense being installed and being on the same page schematically. When Jones was asked if O’Brien is bringing any of the stuff he ran at Alabama with him, Jones gave a standard, nondescript response.

“I’m not going to get into the specifics and give it away, but I think there’s definitely things we talk about, like lingo. There’s things we both say and it makes sense, so that’s important, but at the end of the day, football is football, and we’re kind of building our own thing here and utilizing the guys that we have.” Jones continued: “We have a good group of guys, a veteran group, and really it’s about molding together as a team. That’s the most important part, is how do you come together and trust each other regardless of what the plays are.” 

As far as being on his third offensive coordinator in three years with the Patriots, Jones talked about the fact that he went through the same during his time at Alabama. He actually views it as a learning experience if nothing else.

“I think in college– I always reference college, right? Didn’t really play early on, just got a chance to learn. But, I learned through some really good coaches: Sark [Steve Sarkisian], [Brian] Daboll, [Mike] Locksley, [Lane] Kiffin, everybody. I actually had a different coordinator pretty much every year there. What I took from that is you learn from each one of them.”

When it comes to O’Brien, Jones hopes to learn from him but above all else, he wants to earn O’Brien’s trust and in turn,  trust O’Brien himself.

“You take the really good things and you add that to your repertoire. I think with OB [Bill O’Brien], obviously that needs to happen and we’re going to work toward that. There’s a lot of familiarity, but it’s a new relationship still. We’re just working on that trust. That’s what I care about; I’m very much a trustworthy person, and that’s what we’re trying to build.”

So far it seems like Jones and O’Brien are on the same page and that is a good thing for a Patriots offense that must be better than it was last season. Much of the pressure to turn things offensively will fall on O’Brien and Jones. Being on the same is the first step in the process of turning things around. So far so good but let’s not get too excited. No one has ever won a game in June let alone a Super Bowl. The Patriots have a long way to go offensively.

One thing is for certain this upcoming season. At least the quarterback and offensive coordinator will be on the same page.