One season after he was a Pro Bowler, New England Patriots' quarterback Mac Jones felt he was dragged down by the team's offense. He had an idea to fix it. But when head coach Bill Belichick found out, Jones ended up in the doghouse while Bailey Zappe found himself under center.

Jones reportedly went behind Belichick's back asking for offensive help. He asked people outside of the Patriots' organization if they could help the team's non-existent offense. Belichick found out about these conversations and things got personal between the two, via Pro Football Talk analyst Chris Simms.

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“Mac Jones wasn't happy,” Simms said. “He was telling people he wasn't happy. He was calling people about, ‘Hey, can you help us with ideas and do stuff like that?”

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“From my understanding, Belichick found out all these things,” Simms continued. “He found out that Mac was talking to people, and all this, and there was some back-channel conversations going on behind Belichick's back. And I think that's where it did get personal.”

Mac Jones injured his ankle in Week 3 but returned in Week 7. In that game, Jones was replaced by Zappe. Zappe had gone 2-0 in the games Jones had missed. New England fell to the Bears 33-14. While there was some quarterback controversy, Jones eventually did regain his starting role.

Still, the Patriots had major offensive problems. They finished the year ranked 24th in total offense, averaging just 314.6 yards per game. Jones didn't fare much better himself, throwing for 2,997 yards, 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

Heading into the offseason, it's clear that the Patriots need help in the offensive department. It appears that the relationship between Jones and Belichick could use some work too.