The success of the 2023 New England Patriots may depend largely on two key figures -- quarterback Mac Jones and head coach Bill Belichick -- who didn't always see eye-to-eye last season.
So, can Jones and Belichick work together more harmoniously this year? Bill O'Brien could have a say in that answer.
The Patriots' new offensive coordinator was hired to provide stability and experience to an offense that lacked both last season under first-year offensive play-caller Matt Patricia. Patricia's inexperience meant Belichick often played an active role in New England's offensive operations, unlike in years past where he could let Josh McDaniels run the show.
In minicamp and OTAs earlier this year, the pendulum appeared to swing in the opposite direction, with Belichick rarely speaking to Jones on the field, which led some to speculate about their relationship after Belichick reportedly made the QB available for trade this offseason.
Get New England news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NECN newsletters.
Through nearly two weeks of training camp practices, however, Belichick appears to have struck a healthy balance in his involvement with Jones, O'Brien and the Patriots offense.
"Bill's been around a lot more in the last week," Greg Bedard of the Boston Sports Journal said on NBC Sports Boston's Sports Sunday, as seen in the video player above. "I saw Bill basically talking to Mac between series (Sunday) and it looks very much like Bill talking to Tom Brady during camp. So, it seems like that stuff is normalizing between the two guys.
"Obviously Bill O'Brien has the heaviest hand, but Bill has been a lot more involved with the offense than I anticipated him being so far in camp."
The Boston Herald's Andrew Callahan shared a similar observation that Belichick is keeping regular tabs on the offense, but also is giving O'Brien plenty of latitude to run the offense.
"He's been supervising. I think that's the best way I've seen it," Callahan said of Belichick. He's always kind of hovering. He'll have a comment here or there, specifically to Mac as Greg mentioned. But to me, he's letting Bill O'Brien be the head coach of the offense.
"When we all look back at last year and think about this offseason, that's what Bill O'Brien is coming in here to do: be a buffer between Mac and Bill and let Belichick do what he does best: on Tuesdays, meet with the quarterbacks, break down the defenses and provide a pointer or two when O'Brien is busy with the rest of the offense."
In many ways, this is how a normal offensive operation is supposed to function: with a seasoned offensive coordinator calling the shots and the head coach checking in occasionally to offer his input. The Patriots strayed very far from that operation in 2022, and they're hoping that a more "normal" setup in 2023 can help Jones get back on track after a dismal sophomore campaign.
