Legendary college coach Nick Saban must have been grinning ear to ear when watching former Alabama quarterback Mac Jones torch the Los Angeles Rams defense on Thursday Night Football.
Jones went from being a perceived first-round draft bust for the New England Patriots to serving as the backup for Trevor Lawrence with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Now, as the backup for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, who has been out with an injury, Jones has been paired with the quarterback whisperer, Kyle Shanahan.
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With the entire football world watching, Jones looked better than ever before on the primetime stage in a 49ers uniform. He went 33-of-49 passing for 342 yards and two touchdowns.
“I’m so happy for Mac [Jones],” Saban said on The Pat McAfee Show on Friday. “I think Mac was one of those guys who was in bad situations in New England relative to coaching and all that type of stuff, and who was the offensive coordinator, and how did he get developed when he came into the league. He hasn’t been in great circumstances. I think, right now, he is in a really good circumstance with Shanahan and their offense.”
Jones made the Pro Bowl as a rookie with the Patriots when Josh McDaniels was his offensive coordinator. But after that season, McDaniels landed the head coaching job in Las Vegas, and former Patriots coach Bill Belichick named his longtime defensive coach, Matt Patricia, as the offensive playcaller.
And it was an absolute disaster.
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Jones’ career took an immediate nosedive, and not long after, he was shipped out of town for a sixth-round draft pick. Shanahan is one of the best offensive minds in the league, and his impeccable ability to get the most out of quarterbacks could lead to a career resurgence for Jones.
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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Nick Saban breaks silence on Patriots’ failed development of Mac Jones