Lawrence’s first year his coach was Urban Meyer. His regime was considered one of the largest dumpster fires in the modern age. It wasn’t a matter of “putting talent around Lawrence” as much as changing the entire culture and improving execution.
“Talent” being the root cause of every football malady is lazy fan analysis. Some don’t understand football and treat it like a computer simulation run by automaton's instead of actual humans. A team can be hyper talented (Cowboys) but still execute poorly and lose. A team can have median talent (2023 Rams) and still win games.
Lawrence also improved, his sophomore season he attained a level of play Mac never approached and on a median level talented Jacksonville roster. He regressed in year three by turning it over too much, but they saw enough to pay him. He has been a good leader and teammate.
Mac was a terrible leader, he was a dirty player who whined, pointed fingers, sidled up to the owner to get his way. He would throw a terrible ball then demonstrably point at his receiver like it was their fault.
And let’s be very specific, the offense was on a downward trajectory. The defense remained its dominant self. So if BB lost the ability to talk or relate to younger players… it was strictly limited to his fragile insecure QB. His defensive players loved him.
Around 2020 Jonathan took over operations permanently and wanted his team back from the old coach. He wanted to switch to a more player friendly west coast offense, we saw that failed attempt in 2022. He obviously hired Wolf and some offensive coaches. Bill played along to get along, but once it started failing and the QB he never wanted showed he wasn’t “the guy” it all started to fall apart quickly.
The reason BB trotted Mac out there to start repeatedly last season despite failing spectacularly and getting benched four times was the owner/GM insistence that Mac play. It was a fck you move and brilliant, if they wanted Mac then he would shove Mac down their throats until they choked on him. It worked eventually, but too little too late. Bill made Mac a healthy scratch at the end of the season to rub salt in the wound.
Some Pat’s fans live under the illusion a paid employee has more power than the owner… it’s a farce. If you can’t admit in the discord of collaboration over the last three years then you’re being willfully ignorant because you resent Bill.
I root for the laundry… not a coach, not the owner, not the QB. The truth is the truth, whether it’s inconvenient for the agenda driven here is irrelevant. I was critical of BB the same way I’m critical of Mayo or Wolf. Every move is judged on its own merits. Some fans can’t recognize abject objectivity and accuse others of having a bias.
Mac sucked after week 13 of his rookie season with a very good roster around him…. that’s reality.
