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Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson caught the attention of people in New England last week when he appeared to take a bit of a jab at the Patriots for how they developed quarterback Mac Jones.
The Patriots traded Jones to the Jaguars back in March after he spent three seasons in New England -- the last two of which were pretty underwhelming.
Jones played fantastic in three preseason games for the Jaguars this month. Pederson acknowledged that after his team's preseason finale last Friday, but he also snuck in a mention of the Patriots.
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"Mac has played extremely well the last couple of weeks and really has bought into what we do," Pederson told reporters after Friday's win over the Atlanta Falcons.
"He'll still revert back to his Patriot ways every now and then and we've got to remind him he's in Jacksonville, but he's done a good job. He's done a good job managing and running the offense, getting everybody involved. He sees the field well, throws a good ball, so he's done a good job."
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On Monday, Pederson clarified what he meant by those comments. He insisted he wasn't taking a shot at the Patriots.
"It's no different than myself. I grew up in Green Bay, right? Played for Green Bay. You learn certain things," Pederson told reporters, via ESPN's Michael DiRocco. "You go somewhere else, like, I went to Cleveland, and you revert back to terminology, hand signals, plays, things like that. That's what you're talking about. And sometimes he pulls out an old hand signal or throws out some old terminology or something because that's what he's known, right? That's what he's been a part of for the last several years. And it's not a slight, a knock or anything. That's what I mean, you know?
"Like I said, he's been great. He's been great for the room. He's played extremely well. We've got to keep continuing to grow and it's just sometimes -- especially as quarterbacks -- and as astute as he is, and he studies the game extremely well, just the terminology and learning our way and how we do it. That's what I meant by that."
Pederson's clarification makes sense. He played quarterback in the NFL for four different teams over 10 years, so he understands what Jones is going through on a new team.
Jones is getting a chance to revive his career in his hometown of Jacksonville, and so far it's going pretty well. But with Trevor Lawrence firmly entrenched as the starting quarterback for the Jaguars, it remains to be seen when Jones will get his next opportunity at a No. 1 job.
