As the 2022 season wore on, New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones clearly had had his fill of the team’s offensive structure.

When offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels left to become the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders last offseason, Patriots coach Bill Belichick turned the offensive play-calling over to Matt Patricia, a former NFL head coach and defensive coordinator, while making him the offensive-line coach, too.

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As New England fell from the NFL’s sixth-highest scoring team in 2022 to No. 17 in 2023, Jones had angry outbursts on the sidelines. Reports claimed the quarterback had sought outside advice from Alabama, his alma mater, on how to improve New England’s offense, and the inquiries landed Jones in Belichick’s doghouse. Offseason speculation indicated the Patriots made Jones available in trade talks.

Regardless of the degree of division and the accuracy of the rumors, Jones said he and the head coach were making “a fresh start” in 2023.

“I think we’re good,” Jones said on Wednesday after New England’s first full-team practice of training camp when asked to characterize his relationship with Belichick. “I think the biggest thing that we’ve all talked about is just having a fresh start. I think there’s a lot of learning experiences from last year that we’ve talked about, and this year, it’s all about just working together, right? You’ve got to come up with a plan, obviously talk about it and then execute it, so I’m excited for that part of it.

“For me, I’m just trying to be really consistent, try not to ride the wave, just stay my course and, hopefully, everybody on our offense feels that, too. I think coach (Bill) O’Brien does a great job laying out what we do well so far, and we’re going to learn every day what we do well, and then from there you just keep moving forward and execute the plan, so I’m definitely excited for that.”

Belichick has a titled and experienced offensive coordinator on his staff this year after hiring O’Brien, who had been Alabama’s offensive coordinator.

“I think it’s great,” Jones said about O’Brien running the offense this season. “I think it’s a great challenge. I always talk about my time at Alabama, and I was fortunate to play for some really good coordinators. Obviously, I crossed paths with (O’Brien) there, so I’m definitely excited. I definitely think we’ve got a lot of stuff we’ve got to work on, and I just feel like we have a good mojo going. But, at the end of the day, it’s the first day, and we’ve got to stack days together.”

After helping the Crimson Tide win the CFP national championship for the 2020 season with an undefeated record, Jones joined the Patriots as the 15th selection in the 2021 NFL Draft.

As a rookie, Jones started every game. New England returned to the playoffs after missing the postseason in 2020 for the first time since 2008, and Jones played in the Pro Bowl.

But in his second season, Jones missed three games and most of another with an ankle injury, his TD pass total declined from 22 to 14 and the Patriots posted an 8-9 record.

What will make 2023 a successful season for Jones?

“Oh, that’s a long way away, you know?” Jones said when asked that question on Wednesday. “It’s kind of hard. We just started our first day, so really, I know it’s cliché, but just focus on tomorrow, recovering and watching the film. That’s how you do it, right? You can’t focus on the future.

“I know it’s hard, right? You obviously want to lay out your goals, but at the same time you’ve got to be present, especially with us. We put in a lot of plays each day. We do a lot of things, work really hard. You guys saw us working. We’ve just got to do that every day, come together and eventually, hopefully, that’s what it turns into, right? You don’t want to not have those goals, but we’re really just focused on today and tomorrow.”

After the turbulence of 2022, Jones has a personal plan to keep that focus as he prepares for the 2023 season.

“The key for me is trying to just take it day-by-day and not get too up or down,” Jones said. “Just take things as they come. And I know for a lot of guys, some guys, this is their 14th, 15th training camp or whatever in the NFL, on top of however long they’ve played football. So for me, I think of it the same way. I’ve played since I was 5 years old, so I’ve had a lot of chances to have a first day and kind of get into a season, so I’m definitely excited but just got to approach it very cerebral and just do my thing.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.