The relationship between Bill Belichick and Mac Jones was not what it should have been during the quarterback's past three seasons with New England. 

And it seems that Belichick's decisions even rubbed some of the players the wrong way as the 2023 season went on.

In the Patriots regular-season finale, Jones was demoted once again, forced to serve in the emergency/third quarterback role rather than as the backup. And in his place, it was Nathan Rourke who was on the depth chart behind Bailey Zappe. 

However, this move was an interesting one, with Rourke having only joined the team 20 days prior to the game. 

According to ESPN's Mike Reiss, some players questioned this controversial decision. 

"Some wondered if it was a way to protect Jones' health for future trade possibilities, but several players didn't buy that explanation because it ran counter to what Belichick always told them about how every decision is to help the team win," Reiss wrote. "Those players hypothesized that Belichick was making a statement that game-day roster spots are earned and Jones' scout-team work, which at one point included too many interceptions, didn't meet his standard."

It seemed Belichick was truly over Jones, who was clearly the Kraft's choice rather than his own. That was further proven when ESPN reported that Belichick wanted to trade Jones prior to the 2023 season, but the Kraft's wanted to see how he would do with Bill O'Brien leading the charge. 

"During offseason planning meetings, Belichick later told people in the building, he raised the idea to the Krafts of trading quarterback Mac Jones. The Krafts had embraced Jones after he was drafted in the first round in 2021, hoping to build something close to a Brady-like relationship with him. Jones played well as a rookie under then-coordinator McDaniels, then regressed in 2022 under Belichick's patchwork offensive staff. Ownership argued against trading him, wanting to see what Jones could do with O'Brien calling plays, which this past week they denied saying through a team spokesperson. Belichick technically could have traded Jones, but he ceded to his bosses. Longtime observers of the Patriots noticed a disconnect in training camp, when Belichick in news conferences almost went out of his way to not compliment Jones," ESPN reporters Seth Wickersham and Wright Thompson wrote. 

In short: it didn't go any better than the 2022 season. 

And as the season continued, Jones remained the starter for far too long despite his struggles. Wickersham and Thompson also spoke to one source who said it was an "'f— you to Kraft."

However, ultimately Belichick turned to Zappe. 

And demoting Jones in the final game of the season was the final way to prove to Kraft that he had been right all along. 

But in doing so, the players started to question the coach in a way that hadn't happened in the past. And this seemed to be the final nail in the coffin for Belichick's time in New England. 

Jerod Mayo reassures Patriots fans that No. 3 overall pick will be used wisely

That’s very telling.