| December 1, 2020 LIONS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR CORY UNDLIN CONFERENCE CALL QUOTE SHEET (VIA ZOOM) On what he wants his fingerprint on the defense to be in the remaining weeks: “I want these guys to go out and play with confidence, and keep working, just like they’ve been working all year. My fingerprint, or whatever it is, is whatever the players thinks 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). You said it, it is what it is. 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, going to come in and keep working, and see if we can find a way to play right down the stretch here.” On how he envisions the collaborative process of formulating defensive gameplans: “We’ll find out on Sunday. We’ll see how it goes. It’s going to be positive. See if we can put a good plan together. I rely on the assistant coaches, like I have since the first day we got here – Weeks 1 through – whatever week we’re in right now. So that part’s not going to change. Obviously the one piece that is changing is obvious as well. But I’m not going to walk in there and start telling everyone what to do. It’ll be all of us working together, putting together the best plan for the players.” On how emotionally difficult the past few days have been: “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. One of my closest friends on this planet, coaching and personal-wise. So not ideal. I would say, he 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. 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 come together and get to work and play excellent football here for the next five weeks.” On if his defensive philosophy is to rely on veteran players: “I would say that’s a completely case-by-case. We have five games left here, and we’ll go out and play and do everything we possibly can to play good and win as many games as we can here, support ‘Bev’ (Interim Head Coach Darrell Bevell), and support all these coaches, all these players that have put a lot of effort into this. Whatever that looks like, and however we can get through – obviously the injury situation, that was the toughest part this time of the year, so we have to deal with that stuff, obviously on a daily basis. So we’re going to field the best group of men to go out there and help us win. That’s what we’re going to do.” LIONS SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR BRAYDEN COOMBS CONFERENCE CALL QUOTE SHEET (VIA ZOOM) On if his role changes with Darrell Bevell becoming interim head coach: “Those are all obviously decisions that are up to ‘Bev’. I don’t want to get into too much of speaking for him, but I think, certainly, we’ll be probably a little bit more involved in some of the big-picture stuff. Matt (Patricia) was very in control of a lot of the whole team stuff, and Bev will be too, I’m sure. But he’s obviously got his hands full as well with the offense. So, we’re continuing to talk through all of that stuff. It’s been nonstop, really, since the change of just trying to transition. So, it’s all a work in progress. My anticipation is that he’ll lean on me more so for some of the big picture stuff, game-management stuff and those kind of decisions throughout the week and on the sideline. So, I’m looking forward to that.” On if changes in personnel may change what he’s able to do: “Yeah, no question. Roster management, and especially the game-day active roster, that’s really one of the biggest jobs of a special teams coordinator, and really trying to handle it throughout the course of the week. You really try to anticipate early – it’s really not just about figuring it out on Sunday. With us, for example, punt return practice – that might be on Thursday – and then it’s done for the week. So, you really got to try to anticipate that as best you can so that you’re not just putting together the right depth chart, but that you practice guys in the right positions to where they’re actually going to play as opposed to just throwing them out there. So, every head coach is different. ‘Bev’ (Interim Head Coach Darrell Bevell) will definitely be different than Matt (Patricia), but it always comes down to the same, most critical part of all that – (which) is he and I being in sync, communicating through the week, fluid, and just being very honest and upfront about it and just making sure we try to see around corners and talk about it before it happens and not after the fact. Specific to us, I don’t really anticipate any huge changes. We’ve got a great group of guys who have been a big advantage for us throughout the course of the year. We’ll kind of keep rolling and deal with the changes as they come, whether that’s for injury or for moving guys around offensively and defensively.” On if he views the last five weeks as an opportunity to learn about his future and learn more big-picture things as a coach: “I think – I don’t know how different it’s going to be. I’ve been pretty heavily involved with all that stuff with Matt (Patricia) in terms of the process. I think when I alluded to it being a little bit different, it just might be a little bit different level of input I guess, but I’ve gotten to see how that works all year. I would say the biggest thing in terms of a learning experience will just be the exposure to another way of doing things. Every head coach is different, so as an assistant, you’re always trying to kind of make a mental note of things that you like, things that you don’t like, things that you want to adopt. So, it’s really just an opportunity to gain a new perspective on the head coach’s chair and I’m looking forward to working with ‘Bev’ and seeing what kind of ideas he has.” |
