Patriots Ex QB: O'Brien'All the Difference' for Mac Jones

The New England Patriots brought back offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien for his second stint in Foxboro and hope he can get the best out of quarterback Mac Jones.

One of the biggest questions as the New England Patriots kick off training camp is whether or not third-year quarterback Mac Jones can bounce back from his sophomore slump and get back to playing at a similar level as he did during his rookie season. 

Patriots coach Bill Belichick did his part this offseason in helping Jones by ousting the disastrous play-calling experiment of Matt Patricia and Joe Judge from last season's often-described "dysfunctional" offense and replacing them with experienced coordinator Bill O'Brien. 

The return of O'Brien, the former Houston Texans coach, for his second stint in Foxboro has not only the fans excited about seeing an offense in which is built around Jones but also has former Patriots quarterback Jim Miller excited.

“The hiring of Bill O’Brien is going to make all the difference in the world,” Miller said in an interview with WEEI’s “Gresh and Fauria” show when talking about the Patriots' offense. “I talked to Bill and he said there’s probably eight or nine things that he’s going to incorporate into the Patriots offense that he thinks really can salvage just how bad they played last year.

“The year prior, Mac Jones had a solid year offensively and went to the Pro Bowl, and they were a playoff team,” Miller said. “And then they took a step back, and I think we all know the reasons why."

Since O'Brien returned to Foxboro, the word has been that he was building a new offense that will be taking bits and pieces from other playbooks that he has used in the past, including the Alabama offense that Jones was very successful in, to create a "cutting-edge" system. 

“But they’ve got a legitimate play caller who knows how to identify things and let’s face it, Bill O’Brien won three AFC South titles," Miller added. "He’s not just some coach that doesn’t know what he’s doing. He’s a very good play caller.”

'Knowing what to do' seems like a fairly simple prerequisite for the job, yet after last season's Patriots offense went wrong, what Miller has said about O'Brien should be music to the ears of fans. 

Thanks to the open practices that come with camp, fans will get their first chance at seeing what Jones and the Patriots offense will look like under the direction of O'Brien. The offseason expectation is for the former first-round pick to get back to his best that saw him make the Pro Bowl as a rookie. 

---

Follow Patriots Country on Twitter and Facebook

Follow Harrison Reno on Twitter

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Patriots? Click Here

More Patriots coverage from Sports Illustrated here.