Matt Patricia on NFL Cutday: "I Hate It. It's the Worst"
Hard Knocks began airing on HBO back in the summer of 2001.
The realistic, behind-the-scenes look at NFL training camps provided a glimpse of the challenges head coaches and general managers faced in putting together a competitive roster.
One of my favorite episodes that I looked forward to each and every summer was the episode that featured players being escorted into a meeting with either the head coach or GM to reveal whether they had made the roster or been told their goal of making the roster had been dashed.
The inside look at these decisions was fascinating.
But, for the decision-makers, it was evident that NFL cutdown day takes a toll.
Being the messenger of bad news is never easy, and many head coaches have expressed their struggle dealing with this upcoming weekend.
“To be honest with you, I hate it. It’s the worst. You invest in these guys, they invest so much in you and we’re trying to come together as a team and we’re building and we’re competing. And you love these guys that you’re coaching every single day," Patricia said Thursday in a video conference with Detroit media.
He explained further, "That tough reality of what this weekend is -- it’s brutal, to be honest with you. In the back of my mind, I just have to understand that I’m going to do what’s best for the team."
Coaches must be programmed to focus on the best interests of the team they are tasked with running.
One aspect that was intriguing on Hard Knocks was the paternal and sometimes optimistic nature of some coaches delivering tough news.
Players were told to stay prepared and that opportunities to be brought back at a later time could realistically occur or that a coach could always provide a positive review for another coach in the league.
The one theme that emerged regularly on Hard Knocks was that despite being cut, if the work was put in by a player to improve, other opportunities could present themselves later in the future.
"I think one of the things that’s real important for everybody to understand -- this weekend is definitely not the end of anything. There’s always going to be roster movement, there’s going to be change, there’s going to be turnover, there’s going to be opportunities to come in and to compete again and keep working," Patricia said. "Sometimes it’s just a temporary thing and the formality of it, but I would say that in general, it’s a day you walk away from and you’re probably just a little bit down from that standpoint because you love the game, you love the guys and you wish you could just have everybody out there.”
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