Friction between New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and franchise icon Tom Brady led to the latter’s departure in 2020. Now, a new report is indicating that there’s “friction” between the organization and Brady’s successor.
Patriots quarterback Mac Jones has missed the last two weeks as he continues to recover from an ankle sprain that he suffered in Week 3 against the Baltimore Ravens. The Patriots haven’t ruled him out for Sunday’s Week 6 road game against the Cleveland Browns, but there may be a bigger concern on their hands right now.
According to a report from Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio (h/t Jordy McElroy of Patriots Wire), there may be friction developing between the second-year quarterback and New England’s coaches:
“Let me be careful how I frame this because I don’t really have this nailed down yet, but I have reason to believe there’s something between Mac Jones and the coaching staff. I think Mac may be a little disconcerted with the quality of the coaching this year.
You go from Josh McDaniels last year to this amalgamation of Joe Judge and Matt Patricia, two guys who weren’t offensive coaches before they became head coaches, before they failed as head coaches. And now, Matt Patricia calling the plays. I have reason to believe there’s some quiet friction there that could boil over at some point.”
McDaniels, New England’s longtime offensive coordinator, left for the Las Vegas Raiders’ head coaching position earlier this year.
Judge was previously the Patriots’ special teams coordinator before taking the New York Giants’ head coaching position in 2020. The team fired him after a 4-13 season. Patricia served as the defensive coordinator under Belichick from 2012 to 2017, before leaving to coach the Detroit Lions for three seasons (he was fired late in the 2020 campaign).
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Belichick brought back Patricia last year, and Judge returned to the organization following his dismissal from the Giants. It’s widely assumed that Patricia and Belichick are calling the offensive plays, but Belichick has refused to specify their roles.
Jones recorded 786 passing yards and two touchdowns against five interceptions before his injury. Rookie Bailey Zappe, a fourth-round pick out of Western Kentucky, has performed admirably well in Jones’ absence.
Replacing an injured Brian Hoyer in the midst of the Week 4 outing against the Green Bay Packers, Zappe nearly led New England to a stunning victory over Aaron Rodgers’ squad. Zappe helped the Patriots to a 29-0 win against the Detroit Lions last Sunday to improve the team’s record to 2-3.
