Undlin: ‘We all know what this business entails’
Defensive coordinator Cory Undlin accepted the job in Detroit to aid his long-time friend Matt Patricia.
Unfortunately, Detroit’s defense has struggled in several key areas, and never came together in the manner in which anybody had originally planned.
During his first media session since Patricia was dismissed, Undlin shared the challenging emotions he has dealt with the past 72 hours since his colleague and friend was let go.
“I think you can probably imagine — one of your buddies calls you and asks for you to come over and help. And then, you came over, and helped and it didn’t work. Not a good situation to be in,” Undin said. “One of my closest friends on this planet, coaching and personalwise. So, not ideal. He (Matt Patricia) and I both know, we all know, what this business entails. And that’s if you don’t play well and you don’t produce, you lose your job.”
He added, “I think in the grand scheme of things, we both understand that. Obviously, (I) feel terrible about the situation. But, the situation is what it is right now. We have to move forward. There’s no other option. I see this going down — and you guys have heard me talk about this group of men, these players, all year long, and
I do everything I possibly can to be here for them and (to) come together and get to work and play excellent football here for the next five weeks.”
The challenge for assistant coaches is vast when things are going well. When a coach is dismissed, their world is also thrown into chaos.
Coaches have to remain focused on the job at hand, but also must be considering what their own future may look like when the next regime is hired.
For Undlin, his mindset won’t change drastically over the next five weeks, as he is going to come to work to try and implement a game plan to help the team win games.
“I want these guys to go out and play with confidence, and keep working — just like they’ve been working all year,” he said. “My fingerprint, or whatever it is, is whatever the players think it’s going to be. Whatever they say it was when I was here. I’ve enjoyed every second of being here with these guys. I don’t see that changing in the next five (games). We didn’t play well enough, and hence, one of our coworkers lost his job. So, we’re going to play better. My mindset is not changing. (I’m) going to come in and keep working, and see if we can find a way to play right down the stretch here.”