Former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III has a theory about what has gone wrong for Mac Jones with the Patriots this season, pointing the finger at the team’s decision-maker. 

Griffin put the problem squarely on the shoulders of New England head coach Bill Belichick, and the former NFL quarterback had no problem saying as much during Wednesday’s edition of “Get Up” on ESPN. 

“For me, this comes down to coaching. In year two, Bill Belichick messed up his young quarterback,” Griffin said. “When you give him a defensive coordinator and a special teams coordinator as his offensive coordinator, and now he’s on his third offensive coordinator in three years in the NFL, that to me is the epitome of a coaching malpractice.”

The former Washington, Baltimore and Cleveland signal-caller acknowledged Belichick as “arguably the greatest coach of all time in NFL history” but still held him responsible for how things have gone with Jones since he entered the league in 2021.

“He really overthought this, and it’s hurt Mac Jones permanently in my opinion,” Griffin said. 

Jones has had a roller-coaster career thus far, which hit its lowest point this past weekend when he threw three interceptions and was eventually benched in the Patriots’ 38-3 loss to the Cowboys. 

This season, Jones has completed 93 passes on 146 attempts for 898 yards, five touchdowns and four interceptions as New England has started 1-3. 

Griffin boiled down the issue even further while on the ESPN talk show. 

“Mac Jones is not a creator, but they’re asking him to create. That’s a scheme problem,” Griffin III said. “When you look at what he did in 2021, he led the No. 6 ranked offense in the NFL. Who was his coordinator? Josh McDaniels, right? One of the best OCs we’ve ever seen in this league.

“Now you move forward to this year, and they have one of the worst offenses in the league. But what’s the difference?

“Well, in 2021, they were doing play-action 27% of the time. That’s the kind of player Mac Jones is. Right now, they’re doing it 14% of the time. So because of that, they’re asking him to, ‘All right, we need you to go out and scramble a little bit…when the play breaks down, we’re going to do all these different things,’ and that’s not who he is.”

The Patriots are sticking with Jones as their starter going into Week 5 against the 2-2 Saints.