After watching the Bears end of game disaster on Thanksgiving, Jerod Mayo called his director of game management to discuss how they would’ve handled the situation differently
Jerod Mayo was just like the rest of us on Thanksgiving, watching the end of the Chicago Bears' game against the Detroit Lions and wondering what the heck the Bears' offense was doing as time ran out on its comeback attempt.
Mayo is the head coach of the New England Patriots, however, so instead of helping himself to seconds after the Bears' flub, he decided to make a phone call.
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Mayo told reporters Friday that he called Patriots assistant Evan Rothstein after watching a wild finish to Bears-Lions in which rookie quarterback Caleb Williams and the Chicago offense ran just one play in the final 30 seconds while failing to orchestrate a game-winning drive in an eventual 23-20 loss.
A wild end to this one. #CHIvsDET pic.twitter.com/zwR7g1Efv9
— NFL (@NFL) November 28, 2024
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"I actually called Evan and we were just talking through that situation," Mayo said. "It was great conversation. Oftentimes it's easy to second-guess and look back on those decisions that are made and say, 'Well, that's crazy.' But for me, it's just another opportunity to be a better head football coach."
While Mayo didn't get into specifics of his conversation with Rothstein, he added that he would have employed a different strategy if he was in the shoes of Bears head coach Matt Eberflus, who declined to use his final timeout as the seconds ticked away.
"I'm not gonna get into that whole world, but I probably would have handled it a little bit differently," Mayo said. "But again, easy for me to say just sitting right here."
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So, who exactly is Rothstein and what role does he play for the Patriots that led him to get a phone call from Mayo on Thanksgiving?
Rothstein's official title is assistant quarterbacks coach/director of game management. After nine seasons with the Detroit Lions, Rothstein came to New England in 2021 along with Matt Patricia, initially working in the Patriots' research department. Rothstein became an offensive assistant in 2022 then worked as an assistant quarterbacks coach in 2023 before adding "director of game management" this season following Bill Belichick's departure in January.
In some respects, Rothstein is to Mayo what Ernie Adams was to Belichick, serving as the head coach's "eyes and ears" and helping him with in-game decision-making from the coaches' booth. Mayo confirmed Friday that he and Rothstein have a direct line of communication during games.
"We spend a lot of time talking about situational football and things like that," Mayo said. "As a head coach on the field, there's a lot going on, whether it's people talking to you through your headset and all that stuff.
"I think it's good that you have a separate channel where it's just the two of us on there really discussing and staying ahead of the game, talking about different situations and how to approach those."
Belichick (with help from his longtime friend Adams) was one of the best in-game strategists in NFL history, so Rothstein and Mayo have very big shoes to fill. But Mayo has reiterated that he's trying to learn as much as possible in his first year as head coach, and it appears that process is ongoing, with Rothstein serving as his right-hand man.
The Patriots (3-9) host the Colts (5-7) this Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
