Nick Saban Applauds Mac Jones’ 49ers Resurgence While Taking Subtle Shot at Patriots

Mac Jones was coached by Nick Saban when he played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Nick Saban Applauds Mac Jones’ 49ers Resurgence While Taking Subtle Shot at Patriots

Nick Saban and Mac Jones (Image via IMAGO)

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Mac Jones, once viewed as the successor to Tom Brady in New England, experienced a rapid fall from grace following his rookie season. After just three years of Patriots football, Jones was shipped to Jacksonville before ending up in San Francisco.

Even though he signed a two-year contract, there were doubts about whether Jones would even get a chance to play, considering the presence of Brock Purdy on the team. Jones did not have to wait long.

The Niners sidelined Purdy following a toe injury on opening day. Jones took over the starting quarterback job and won back-to-back games against the New Orleans Saints and the Arizona Cardinals.

However, he missed the opportunity to play against his former team, the Jaguars, as the Niners reinstated Purdy as the starter ahead of the week four clash. The 49ers faced a major setback.

Not only did the Niners lose the game, but Purdy also aggravated his toe, forcing him to miss the next game.

This paved the way for Jones to display his skills against a Los Angeles Rams team that had only lost one game all year. Jones threw for 2 touchdowns and posted a 107.53 quarterback rating to see off their divisional rivals in LA.

After three starts, the 27-year-old has accumulated 86 completions for 905 yards, 6 touchdowns, and 1 interception. He became the first 49ers quarterback since the 1950s to win their first three games for the club.

Nick Saban, who coached Mac Jones in Alabama, praised the Pro Bowler on his resurgence while simultaneously taking a jab at the Patriots and their coaching department for mishandling him.

I’m so happy for Mac. I think Mac was one of those guys who was in bad situations in New England relative to coaching and all that stuff, and who was the offensive coordinator, and how did he get developed when he came into the league.

Nick Saban said on the Pat McAfee Show

During his three years with the Patriots, Jones learned from three different offensive coordinators. Josh McDaniels helped him record a 10-7 season in his rookie campaign. After McDaniels left to manage the Raiders, defensive guru Matt Patricia (2022) took charge of the play calling, followed by Bill O’Brien in 2023.

Mac Jones is the latest quarterback to thrive in a new environment

Several quarterbacks who were once viewed as busts have managed to carve out a second innings for themselves. Baker Mayfield at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sam Darnold, first at the Minnesota Vikings and currently at the Seattle Seahawks, and Daniel Jones at the Indianapolis Colts.

Nick Saban Applauds Mac Jones’ 49ers Resurgence While Taking Subtle Shot at Patriots
#10 Mac Jones (Image via IMAGO)

Mayfield was drafted first overall by the Cleveland Browns in 2018. Despite delivering the club’s first winning season in years, the Browns traded him to the Carolina Panthers, where the ex-Sooner was relegated to playing scout team linebacker.

Following the end of the bizarre Panthers’ spell, Mayfield spent a few weeks in LA with the Rams before beating out Kyle Trask for the Buccaneers job in 2023. Since then, Mayfield has thrown over 9000 yards, 75 touchdowns, and 26 interceptions and led the Bucs to consecutive NFC South titles.

Darnold shared the locker room with Mayfield at Carolina after spending three seasons with the New York Jets. Taken just two picks after Mayfield, Darnold failed to tie down the starting job with the Panthers before backing up Brock Purdy in San Francisco and eventually landing in Minnesota with the Vikings.

Kevin O’Connell announced Darnold as the starting quarterback, as rookie JJ McCarthy was unavailable due to an injury. Darnold led the Vikings to a 14-3 finish by throwing 4319 yards, 35 touchdowns, and 12 picks.

The Vikings declined to extend Darnold’s stay, and he moved to the West Coast to join the Seahawks. So far, the Seahawks are 3-1 and have to deal with the Mayfield-led Bucs in week five.

Daniel Jones was the QB2 behind Darnold in Minnesota last year. The Duke graduate left the New York Giants after going 24-44-1 in his first six seasons.

The Vikings wanted to keep Jones as McCarthy’s backup, but he declined and signed a contract with the Indianapolis Colts. He beat Anthony Richardson for the QB1 job and has won three of his four games as the starter, posting 87 completions for 1,078 yards (71.9%), 4 touchdowns, and 2 picks.

DJ will face off against either Purdy or Mac Jones in week 16.

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