NFL hot seat: 5 head coaches who’ll be under scrutiny in 2019
By Peter Panacy
No. 4: Matt Patricia, Detroit Lions
Plucking from the coaching tree of New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick always seems like a good idea, right? At least that’s what the Detroit Lions thought when they hired former Pats defensive coordinator Matt Patricia for their own head-coaching vacancy in 2018.
After parting ways with former head coach Jim Caldwell after back-to-back 9-7 finishes, it’s hard to look at Patricia’s 6-10 last-place finish in the NFC North as any sign of progress.
Sure, the Lions took a step forward under Patricia, defensively. But game management continued to be a problem, and so did issues off the field, apparently.
According to a report from the Detroit Free Press, one former Lions player stated Patricia was regularly late to meetings. Here’s the direct passage:
"Patricia’s lack of punctuality also has been an issue in team meetings this year, where one former player said the coach was consistently late during his months with the Lions. The player, who spoke to the Free Press via text message, was granted anonymity so as to avoid reprisal from other coaches or teams in the league."
Patricia tried to explain his tardiness, citing “fluidity” as a reason for being late.
It would be one thing if the Lions were winning. But the lack of on-field results, combined with attendance issues, is an easy reason to put Patricia on the NFL hot seat just over a year into his head-coaching tenure.