Easterby reinforces that they are blessed to play professional football, but is quick to add, "Hey, your wife matters. Love your family. Encourage your family. Make good decisions financially. Those things matter. Adding a more well-rounded body of life never hurts a person. That's going to help them be more stable in any environment they enter.

"When you're talking about life, added perspective is never a disadvantage. That's my deal: life."

Few choices in life are more important than the one you make when you decide to share yours with someone else. Easterby helps ensure that a player's heart and mind are in the right place when he decides to get married.

"He walked through my engagement with my wife and me. He did some of our premarital counseling," says Slater. "He was there the day I married my wife. He's helped me through fatherhood, and most importantly, he's encouraged me as a Christian."

Shortly after 2017 draft choice Derek Rivers walked into Gillette Stadium for the first time, he gravitated to Easterby. In the summer of his rookie year, Rivers proposed to his then-girlfriend, who hails from Charlotte, N.C. The couple, wanting a small, quick wedding, asked Easterby to perform the service here in New England.

"Then we had a bigger one in Charlotte, and he did it there, too," Rivers reveals. "My wife has a great relationship with his wife [Holly] and their kids. So, we just knew he was the guy for us."

As team chaplain, Easterby heads Patriots Bible study sessions, which, for many years prior to his arrival, were player-led. Slater points out that this responsibility was difficult for them.

"To be able to have someone like that to encourage guys spiritually, to build friendships, to build manhood, to build fatherhood, to build marriages, is so important. Those are the things that are going to last well beyond the game of football. You're looking for the right guy to do that. We didn't feel like we were doing a good enough job. There were so many things we were coming up short in. To have Jack come in really filled the gap, really made this whole place better. It's been tremendous."

When injuries inevitably crop up or family strife surfaces, players know Easterby can be entrusted with confidential, personal details of their lives.

Hollister and his twin brother, Cody, for example, made the team as undrafted rookies in 2017 (Cody, a wide receiver, spent last season on the practice squad). This year, Cody went on injured reserve prior to training camp and Jacob has been limited all season with a lingering hamstring issue. The Hollisters are fortunate to have one another to lean on, but often reach out to Easterby as well.

"Yeah, there's definitely times – I think that's the nice thing with Jack, is that he's always going to be that rock for you," Hollister observes. "He's always a guy that you can go to in this building and [what you talk about] is going to stay between you two. He's been amazing in every way to me and Cody, and, really, every guy in the locker room."

As a rookie in 2013, Allen competed with veteran punter Zoltan Mesko. As if that wasn't stressful enough, he also had issues at home, on the other side of the country. He sought out Easterby.