Hamptons party may force Bill Belichick to ‘play nice’ amid rumors of rift with Mac Jones, according to NFL insider
Bill Belichick will go down as the greatest head coach in NFL history and is entering his 24th season as the Patriots head coach. He shows no signs of slowing down but there could be a scenario in which he might have to get along with quarterback Mac Jones.
Jones recently attended a party at The Hamptons thrown by team owner Robert Kraft. Former Patriots Devin McCourty and Tom Brady were in attendance. Ben Volin of The Boston Globe wrote about the relationship between Belichick and Jones, including what took place last season:
"The Belichick-Jones relationship got off to a solid start in 2021, but went sideways in 2022, as the Patriots struggled to 8-9 and Jones’s stats dipped across the board.
"Jones didn’t seem to appreciate being led by inexperienced offensive coaches (Matt Patricia and Joe Judge), and Belichick didn’t seem to appreciate Jones’s emotional outbursts, or Jones reportedly going behind Belichick’s back for advice on how to fix the offense".
Picture isn’t captioned, but seems possible/likely it was taken at Robert Kraft’s party in The Hamptons last weekend (played by Dave Matthews).
Mac Jones may have a lot to prove with Belichick and the fans, but he’s certainly in tight with the owner. https://t.co/RI2Nn7XQjx
The New England Patriots took Mac Jones 10th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft as their quarterback of the future. As Volin eluded to, Jones' stats took a dip from his rookie season to last season.
Jones had 2,997 yards last season compared to 3,801 yards in his rookie season. He threw for 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2022 but had 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 2021.
There were also rumors that Belichick was trying to trade Jones this offseason, adding to their reported rift.
Do the Patriots have Bill Belichick's successor on the current coaching staff?
There is a belief that former Patriots linebacker and current inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo is the head coach-in-waiting for the team.
Kraft spoke to Judy Battista of NFL Network at the league meetings in March about Mayo as a potential heir to Belichick:
"Well, he's definitely a strong candidate to be the heir apparent, but we have some other good people in our system. So right now, we have a good head coach, and we're doing everything we can to support him, and make sure we do everything we can to win."
On Jerod Mayo, Robert Kraft said: “Jerod is an individual, I think there is no ceiling on his ability to grow and how competent he is. … I was happy we were able to sit with him and keep him long term. I’m going to do everything I can to make that happen.” twitter.com/RapSheet/statu…
The six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach is 71 years old as he looks to possibly become the winningest coach in NFL history. We'll see how Bill Belichick, Jones, Mayo and the Patriots fare in the upcoming season as they look to make the playoffs.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit The Boston Globe, NFL.com, and H/T Sportskeeda.