Mac Jones and Joe Judge often cursed each other out during practice

Tensions within the New England Patriots rose throughout a lackluster 2022 season. A report from Andrew Callahan and Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald revealed things were much worse than previously thought. 

The Patriots' offense struggled under the leadership of assistant coaches Matt Patricia and Joe Judge. While, according to the report, Patricia faced the majority of the criticism from the media side, Judge felt the heat from inside the Patriots' building. Judge reportedly clashed with head coach Bill Belichick as well, but he butted heads most with the Patriots' second-year quarterback, Mac Jones. 

Jones wasn't a fan of Judge, and per the report, it "wasn't uncommon" for the pair to have profanity-filled tirades with one another during practice. 

"Mac didn't like him," a source within the Patriots told the Boston Herald. "At all." 

The  Patriots tried a different approach on the offensive side of the ball in 2022. Led by Patricia and Judge, Jones regressed, and the team's offense sputtered before it ever took off. The 24-year-old's completion percentage fell from 67.6 during his rookie campaign to 65.2 in 2022, and his passer rating dipped from 92.5 to 84.8. Jones' touchdown totals also dropped, falling from 22 last season to 14 in 2022, albeit in three fewer games. 

While Judge is still a member of the Patriots coaching staff for now, he likely won't have much say, if any, on the offensive side of things. There's also some more light at the end of the tunnel for Jones. Earlier this week, the Patriots brought back Bill O'Brien to be the team's new offensive coordinator, a role he previously held from 2009-2011. O'Brien spent the last two seasons at Alabama as offensive coordinator for head coach Nick Saban. 

Jones is reportedly looking forward to working with O'Brien, hoping he can bring some consistency back to the offense after a disastrous 2022.