Getty Jim Caldwell during a Lions-Saints game.
The Detroit Lions have struggled since they made the decision to fire Jim Caldwell and hire Matt Patricia, and a major author finds the whole thing deeply ironic.
After the Lions blew another game in Week 2 sinking Patricia’s overall record to 9-24-1, John Feinstein took to Twitter to pose a question. How was it smart to fire Caldwell, a man who once won as many games in a season in Detroit as Patricia has won in his career?
Jim Caldwell was fired in Detroit after going 36-28; WORST record 7-9; two playoff and 9-7 in 2017. Matt Patricia is now 9-24-1–as many wins as Caldwell had in 16 games his last season in 34 games. How’s that move working out?
Given the struggles of Patricia and the Lions recently, it’s a theme that has come up plenty within the fanbase as folks begin to debate the merits of Patricia as a coach. If the losing continues, the criticism will only mount for Patricia as a boss and he could soon find himself in trouble for his job.
Should that happen, folks like Feinstien would likely find it deeply ironic given how Caldwell was run out of town a few years back.
Analyst Predicted Lions Returning to Jim Caldwell Results
Entering into the 2020 season, Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com was taking a closer look at the rosters across the NFC North ahead of this coming season. An important conclusion for Sessler is that the Lions aren’t elite, but also aren’t terrible. There’s a lack of strengths but a lack of weaknesses as well. All of that could add up to a return to the Jim Caldwell days in terms of record.
Rosenthal writes:
“The pass rush needs work, but there aren’t a lot of major needs or defined strengths on this roster. Most position groups look good, not great, which could lead to another good-not-great record like we saw from Detroit for most of the Jim Caldwell salad days.”
It would be interesting to see how ownership would treat such a situation. Notably, the Lions moved on from Caldwell because of his inability to have elite seasons and get the team over the top. Matt Patricia has struggled with these same things, so would it be considered a success for the team to get back to the Caldwell type 7-9 or 9-7 type years?
In a “playoffs or else” type 2020 year, that’s something to remember. It might be even more something to remember given the Lions are off to a horrible start and currently look a long way from Jim Caldwell results.
Peter King: Matt Patricia ‘About Done’ With Lions
Patricia was said to be on a short leash entering 2020 where the understanding was his team needed to compete for the postseason in order for him to keep his job. So far, that doesn’t look close to happening after the start to the season, and as a result, Patricia’s tenure could be taking on water quickly.
Veteran NFL analyst Peter King had plenty to say about this in a recent Football Morning in America piece following Detroit’s blowout loss on the road in Week 2. As he admitted, a major theme to emerge already in 2020 is the fact that it’s merely September and Patricia looks finished in Detroit.
King wrote:
“The Lions have lost 11 in a row, and they’re the worst finishers since 2019 Edwin Diaz. In Week 1, they blew a 17-point fourth-quarter lead and lost to the Mitchell Trubisky Bears. In Week 2, they blew an early 14-3 lead in Green Bay and lost by 21. Predictably, all the Lions stuck by their coach in the aftermath, but what are they going to say? The most troublesome thing about the Lions is that Patricia was considered a brilliant defensive mind and tactician in New England, and he just can’t get the defense right in Detroit.
The next two weeks likely won’t help. Detroit is at the 2-0 Cardinals, with the 1-0 Saints (playing tonight) coming to Detroit in Week 4. Then Detroit has its bye. There’s no way the franchise would fire him at 0-4 this year and 9-26-1 in his tenure, is there? Doubtful, but clearly, Patricia doesn’t have a lot of time to save his job, not when the Cleveland Browns have five more wins than Patricia since opening day 2018.”
Patricia might not lose his job early in the season, but if the losing continues, King is right in his notion that it might be difficult to keep him long term as a result of what has gone on during the games. The blown leads are piling up, and making it look like an epidemic this staff cannot get out of their locker room. At 9-24-1, Patricia doesn’t have the record to inspire confidence in a quick turnaround, either.
2020 was supposed to be a fresh start for Patricia and his Lions, but the only constant has been more ugly losses. These trends, if they continue, don’t point to the Lions climbing out of their current hole enough to save Patricia from his eventual doom.
Feinstein would likely have said he saw that coming.
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