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Unbeaten in three games this season as the 49ers' starting quarterback, Mac Jones has earned the respect of San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan, and his former college coach, Nick Saban, couldn't be more proud of his accomplishments.

This is what Saban expected to see out of Jones when the Patriots took him at No. 15 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, but he was never put in position to succeed, according to Saban. 

"I'm so happy for Mac," Saban recently said on "The Pat McAfee Show." "I think Mac was one of those guys who was in bad situations in New England relative to coaching and all that type of stuff, and who was the offensive coordinator, and how did he get developed when he came into the league. He hasn't been in great circumstances. I think, right now, he is in a really good circumstance with Shanahan and their offense."

Jones' failure with the Patriots was the final misstep for Bill Belichick, who parted ways with the organization after 24 seasons in January 2024. The divorce, spearheaded by Robert Kraft and Belichick, came after the Patriots went 4-13 in 2023 with a last-place finish in the AFC East and missed the playoffs for the third time in four years.

Over his final two seasons as the Patriots' starting quarterback under Belichick, Jones' numbers dwindled from personal bests as a rookie in 2021 when the former first-round pick threw for 3,801 yards, 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

Belichick's offense misfired after he placed Matt Patricia and Joe Judge in charge of calling the shots in 2022 following Josh McDaniels' exit as offensive coordinator. During the ensuing 2022 and 2023 seasons, Jones tallied 24 touchdown passes total with 23 interceptions and a QBR near the bottom of the NFL.

Jones signed a two-year deal with the 49ers during the offseason to be the primary backup to Brock Purdy. In last week's overtime win over the Rams, Jones had two touchdown passes.

"He played his ass off, man," Shanahan said. "He was unbelievable in the first half. Got banged up a little bit there in the second half and battled through it. He protected the ball going against that defense and throwing the ball that many time and not having a turnover and protecting it like he did, I can't say enough good things about Mac."

A two-time national champion at Alabama under Saban, Jones was terrific as a senior in 2020, earning consensus All-American status for the unbeaten Crimson Tide with 4,500 yards passing and 41 touchdowns, most of which landed in the arms of Heisman winner and fellow Day 1 NFL Draft selection DeVonta Smith.