New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft gave strong endorsements of the two most key figures in his organization when speaking to reporters at the NFL owners meeting on Monday.

First, Kraft expressed confidence in Mac Jones following the quarterback's rough second season, mentioning the unusual coaching situation he had around him and changes made this offseason as part of the reason why he has faith in him moving forward.

“I'm a big fan of Mac,” Kraft said. “He came to us as a rookie, he quarterbacked his rookie season and did a very fine job, I thought. We made the playoffs. I think we experimented with some things last year that frankly didn’t work when it came to him, in my opinion, and I think we made changes [this offseason] that I think put him in a good position to excel.”

Of course, the coaching in 2022 that Kraft brought up was more than likely about Matt Patricia and Joe Judge working on the offensive side of the ball. Patricia, a longtime defensive coach, was the offensive play caller and Judge, a longtime special teams coach, coached the quarterbacks.

Jones struggled, throwing for only 2,997 yards with 14 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and an 84.8 passer rating in 14 games.

The Patriots ended up missing the playoffs as a result of Jones taking a step back, and a day later, Kraft sent an email to season-ticket holders expressing his disappointment and promising that the team would make changes for the 2023 season.

The first change the Patriots made was hiring an offensive coordinator, which ended up being Bill O'Brien. Kraft acknowledged that while he has trust in Belichick's decision-making, he thinks O'Brien will get the most out of his quarterback.

“In the end, Bill is in charge of my football team,” Kraft said. “He makes the decisions of who should start and who should play, and he’s done a pretty darn good job of it for the last, when you think about it, 24 years. I had peach fuzz when that started.

“But I don’t know. To me, I see [Jones] as a very hard-working young man. He’s in the stadium almost every day now in the offseason. I think bringing in Bill O’Brien will work to his advantage, and I’m very positive and hopeful about this upcoming year.”

Belichick's unusual decision to make Patricia and Judge the two leading coaches on the offensive side of the ball led many to wonder if the head coach lost his fastball this past season. Just like he did with Jones, Kraft sang Belichick's praises as he's helped the team win six Super Bowls.

“I think Bill is exceptional at what he does,” Kraft added. “And I’ve given him the freedom to make the choices and do the things that need to be done. And his football intellect and knowledge is unparalleled from what I’ve seen. Just, when you talk to him, the small things, analytically, that he looks at.

“But in the end, this is a business. You either execute and win or you don’t. That’s where we’re at. We’re in a transition phase. I think we’ve made some moves this year that I’m personally comfortable with. And I still believe in Bill.”

Robert Kraft also told reporters that he'd “like” to see Bill Belichick stick around in New England to bring Don Shula's record for the most wins by a head coach in NFL history. Belichick has 329 wins, making him 18 short of Shula's 347 career wins.