Josh McDaniels knows the value of a strong offensive coordinator, considering he’s been one for the bulk of his coaching career. But at this early stage in the offseason, he says players are more responsible for their preparation than any coach.
That’s why he thinks Mac Jones will be fine.
McDaniels addressed the Patriots’ coaching staff exodus at the NFL annual meetings, and how it could impact Jones, who’s entering his pivotal second season.
“With the rules such as they are now, we can’t work with them anyway until we get to late April and the end of May,” McDaniels told reporters, including NBC Sports Boston's Tom Curran. "Then you get a handful of weeks to work with them then they’re off on their own again. So I think the way the rules are, you've got to do a lot of work on your own anyway.
“I think for a lot of young players, if you can digest that and understand, ‘I have a lot of responsibility to improve myself. I can’t just wait for somebody else to do it,’ I think that’s a big thing. And I’m sure Mac is doing that as we speak.”
It’s apparent McDaniels holds Jones in high regard. Jones was the best quarterback of his class, completing 67.6 percent of his passes for 3,801 yards and 22 touchdowns. Earlier this month, McDaniels said he’s never been a more “mature, young football player” than the 2021 first-round pick.
On Monday, McDaniels said he’s certain Jones is carrying out his own training regimen. “I don’t want to place unrealistic expectations on somebody on a different team, but knowing Mac the way that I did last year, I would be surprised if Mac doesn’t have a tremendous routine right now and isn’t attacking every single thing he wants to get better at," he said.
Jones may need to be a sufficient self-starter this season. Bill Belichick wouldn’t reveal much about his barren coaching staff Monday, except that Matt Patricia and Joe Judge will be heavily involved on the offensive end.
Jones may not miss McDaniels now. But come training camp, that could very well change.
