Getty Matt Patricia during his first preseason game.
Matt Patricia’s tenure with the Detroit Lions hasn’t gone as expected or hoped, and as a result, the coach could be on a ticking clock as it relates to his future.
That’s something which former NFL quarterback turned Fox Sports analyst Terry Bradshaw would agree with. Speaking on Sunday, Bradshaw admitted that he doesn’t understand how Patricia has made the Lions any better than the team he took over from Jim Caldwell. Additionally, Bradshaw said the Lions are wasting Matthew Stafford’s prime as a result of this.
Terry Bradshaw brought up Jim Caldwell on FOX’s pregame show. He criticized Matt Patricia.
“If you ask me, it’s pretty simple. When a coach comes in, he makes a difference. This guy has not made a difference. This quarterback is being wasted.”
Patricia is 9-24-1 as coach of the Lions and has had the team close to competing and winning games, but close doesn’t get the job done whatsoever in the NFL. Stafford has taken some steps forward within Darrell Bevell’s offense, but Patricia’s bread and butter was defense. So far, Detroit’s defense has only gotten worse during his entire tenure as head coach.
Will the Lions elect to make a move if Patricia continues to struggle? It’s more than possible, and if they do, it would represent the team starting over yet again, just like they did when they hired Patricia.
That’s what happens when a plan doesn’t come together, something Bradshaw would admit is happening.
Matt Patricia Has Strange Explanation for Struggles
After Detroit fell apart late and sustained a 27-23 loss to the Chicago Bears in Week 1, Patricia was asked if he thought there was something with his coaching leading to the frustration late in games. Safe to say the coach disagreed in a major way.
In the answer, Patricia said he has one of the best plays in NFL history to his credit in the late stages of a game, so he doesn’t view it as a problem in Detroit.
Lions head coach Matt Patricia was asked if there’s something in his coaching “that isn’t happening enough in the fourth quarter.”
“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Patricia said. “I think I got probably one of the biggest plays in the fourth quarter in the history of the NFL.”
The Lions, of course, haven’t been great under Patricia at putting away games and winning when it’s close. The team has let numerous games slip away in the late stages and as a result, Patricia’s tenure feels as if it’s spiraling out of control a bit. Detroit is now 0-1 to start the season and has a losing record with Patricia as coach, so whatever Patricia did multiple years ago to win a Super Bowl at another job wouldn’t seem to matter at this point.
Patricia had better hope he can turn things around quickly this season, otherwise, this quote might go down in history with Marty Mornhinwheg, Rod Marnielli and others who have failed to get it done and crumbled under pressure with some defensive comments.
Matt Patricia’s Lions Tenure
Patricia came to the Lions fresh off success in New England in 2018, and struggled out of the gate to capture the attention of the locker room. A bumpy start paved the way to a more solid finish in 2018 with the team only winning six games, but defeating squads like the New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers, which offered hope.
Patricia has helped the Lions stay in games for the most part in 2019, something which the team struggled with in 2018, but has not gotten them over the hump at closing. That’s perhaps his biggest wart so far as a boss, combined with a lousy defense that has not picked up the program whatsoever. Patricia might get more of a pass considering the absurd amount of injuries he’s dealt with, but it’s hard to ignore that in his tenure as coach, the Lions have had the same discipline problems plague them that always have through the years.
The bet was that both Patricia and Quinn get a mulligan on 2019 considering the rash of injuries that have set the team back, while also living with the understanding that 2020 is likely the make or break year for this group.
So far, it’s been more break than make for Patricia, and the pressure is on him the rest of the way as a result of this.