Anyone who watched San Francisco 49ers quarterback Mac Jones play last season could tell he was having a lot of fun. Whether it was the way he was laughing on and off the field, or just the high level of play he was producing while Brock Purdy was injured, Jones seemed to be enjoying himself.
Jones has said as much in interviews, and he once again drew a stark contrast between his time in college at the University of Alabama under head coach Nick Saban, or his time with the New England Patriots under Bill Belichick, and the experience he’s had with the Niners.
He appeared on the Bussin’ With the Boys podcast and said the following about what the 49ers organization is like compared to others he’s been with:
“Everything is good. The food is amazing. The EQ guys are awesome. I’m friends with everybody in the whole organization. People hang out outside of football. It’s just totally different— even at Alabama and the Patriots. Everyone is just a family, and that’s so cool.”
That close-knit environment has been evident with San Francisco over the years. Whether it’s trips to Mexico or golf trips or George Kittle’s Tight End University, it’s clear there's a lot of camaraderie.
It has to be a breath of fresh air for Jones, who is clearly a goofy guy who likes to laugh and be silly. He came from two of the most stringent, tightly run organizations in all of football under Saban and Belichick, but now Jones is learning it's not the only way to run a successful organization.
That’s not a knock on Saban or Belichick either. They’re obviously both geniuses who do things their own way and have incredible track records to show just how well it worked, but it probably wasn’t the most fun environment playing at Alabama under Saban or in New England under Belichick.
That culture is a big reason why Jones seems perfectly content to stay with San Francisco this upcoming season. Maybe if he was with a different organization, but was in the same circumstance with a franchise quarterback ahead of him on the depth chart, Jones would’ve pushed harder to be traded so he could have an opportunity to start somewhere else.
There’s a good chance he will get some starts this upcoming season, though, because Purdy has shown he can get banged up a bit, so the Niners are lucky to have such a solid backup behind him on the depth chart.
Jones just seems to be right where he wants to be, and it’s always great when a player absolutely loves the situation he’s in and the team absolutely loves having him.
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