Jerod Mayo’s a rookie head coach for the New England Patriots, but he knows the lifespan of an NFL sideline general can be short and he doesn’t want to end up like Matt Eberflus. The latter was fired by the Chicago Bears on Friday, November 29, less than 24 hours after overseeing a clock-management disaster agains the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Eberflus didn’t use his team’s final timeout, even though rookie quarterback Caleb Williams was situationally unaware about the clock winding down. The game-management gaffe was compounded by the Bears being at the Lions’ 25-yard line and well in range of a game-tying field goal.
Watching the missed opportunity prompted Mayo, who owns a win over Eberflus from Week 10, to place a call to Patriots director of game management Evan Rothstein. The conversation continued Mayo’s learning process.
Matt Eberflus’ Plight Presented a Teachable Moment
Mayo explained how he “actually called Evan and we were talking through that situation. It was great – great conversation. Oftentimes, it’s easy to second guess and look back on those decisions that are made and say, ‘Well, that’s crazy.’ For me, it’s another opportunity to be a better head football coach.”
The call was placed “right after the situation that happened. I called him right after that like, ‘Man.’ I’m not going to get into that whole world, but I probably would’ve handled it a little differently. Again, easy for me to say sitting just right here.”
As Mayo pointed out, it’s easy to judge from the pressure-free confines of watching a game at home. Yet Eberflus ultimately had to be held accountable on two fronts.
First, for his players not knowing the situation regarding the clock, down and distance and position on the field. Williams could be excused for his inexperience, although more should be expected from the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
As NFL Media’s Bucky Brooks pointed out, the head coach needs to take charge when players are feeling the pressure of the moment: “That situation should be practiced so much that everyone operates on autopilot at the end.. Regardless, the head coach must burn a timeout when he senses things are out of wack. Calm the team down and remind them of what needs to be done.”
Brooks’ reference to the need for any team to practice specific situations speaks to what was long a foundation of the Partriots’ success under Mayo’s predecessor Bill Belichick.
Jerod Mayo Still Making Situational Football a Priority for Patriots
Mayo has naturally struggled after following six-time Super Bowl winner Belichick into the top job. Some struggles were inevitable for a first-time head coach sifting through the wreckage of a 4-13 roster, but Mayo is wisely still leaning on one of Belichick’s key principles.
Belichick consistently talked up the importance of situational football. That emphasis is continuing on Mayo’s watch, with MassLive.com’s Mark Daniels explaining how the process is working.
It starts with Rothstein, who’s “in his fourth season with the Patriots. Along with his duties as the team’s assistant quarterback’s coach, his work as the director of game management falls in line with what happened to the Bears. During every Patriots game, he’s in Mayo’s headset where he talks about different situations to help the coach.”
Paying attention to the finer details in decisive situations isn’t the only Belichick tendency Mayo is adopting. He’s also shown a willingness to call the same opponent-specific strategies and make creative use of personnel on defense. Like when the Pats used a special teams star to stymie Williams at Solider Field.
Mayo is learning on the job, but he’ll need to accelerate his education to avoid a similar fate to Eberflus.
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