Patriots coaches were reportedly told not to go too hard on Mac Jones

FOXBORO -- After a roller coaster of a second NFL season for Mac Jones, the Patriots quarterback is now being twisted left and right during the offseason. For every positive story there is about Jones, there seems to be a negative one ready to pop up at a moment's notice. 

That was again the case to start this week, with Devin McCourty delivering a glowing endorsement for Jones as the "future of New England." Such praise from a 13-year veteran -- and 12-time Patriots captain -- is nothing to scoff at. 

But even McCourty's compliments have now led to another story that paints Jones in a negative light. In a post for Fox Sports recapping McCourty's comments, Henry McKenna reported that Patriots coaches were "instructed not to go too hard on Mac Jones in an effort to protect him from being too critical of himself," according to a team source.

"There had been an issue in 2021 with Jones struggling after getting yelled at, per the source," wrote McKenna. "That source also suggested, in hindsight, it might have been a mistake to go easy on the quarterback."

This isn't the first time that Jones' poise and attitude have come under fire this offseason. NBC Sports' Chris Simms reported earlier in February that Jones spent the 2022 season in Bill Belichick's dog house because the QB went outside of Foxboro for advice on how to help fix the New England offense.

It's hard to blame Jones, since he wasn't getting any advice (good advice, at least) or leadership from Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, who were tasked with leading New England's offense last season despite having little-to-no background on that side of the ball. The results just got worse as the season went on, and eventually led to in-game tantrums from Jones.

The quarterback is now reportedly excited to get to work with New England's new offensive coordinator, Bill O'Brien, whom he worked with briefly when the two crossed paths at Alabama.

Patriots fans are familiar with O'Brien and his coaching style, and chances are he won't be taking it easy on Jones in Year 3 of his NFL career. Jones said that he wanted tough coaching toward the end of the 2022 season, and he's about to get it.

Until then, the quarterback will just have to ride the roller coaster that is the NFL offseason.