Getty Eric Ebron waives after a 2020 Steelers game.
The Detroit Lions finally made the move to fire Matt Patricia and Bob Quinn, and as could be expected, players had some strong opinions about the move.
In the last few seasons, plenty of former players and alumni have spoken out about Patricia’s tenure and their disdain for it. For those names, Saturday afternoon was a breath of fresh air and there was an explosion of joy following the news that the Lions would be starting over and sacking their staff.
Former Lions players had something to say about Matt Patricia’s firing 👀
Matt Patricia and Bob Quinn picking up their last check, out the door to their next gig like … 😁
Former Lions tight end Eric Ebron also took gleefully to the news, saying he wanted to call Quinn and see if he was straight. Quinn, of course, made the move to cut Ebron a few years back from the team.
about to text bob quinn see if he straight. 😂
Obviously, the Lions are determined to start over, and while former coach Jim Caldwell might not be the answer, it’s clear the team knows this current approach is not getting it done and thus the moves. It’s possible the opinions of plenty of alumni of the team may have played a role in this playing out.
Kenny Golladay Likes Interesting Social Media Post
It hasn’t only been former players giving their opinions. After the firing of Patricia and Quinn, Detroit wideout Kenny Golladay hopped on the internet and gave a curious response to the news, liking the post about the firings being made official.
Golladay has been one of the best players to develop under Quinn and Patricia, and he looks like one of the best young players on the team. Locking Golladay up to a new deal will be a big goal for the next staff, and it’s clear that the wideout is very happy that his former staff will be moving on. That is interesting considering Quinn gave Golladay his start in the league, but potentially, he doesn’t like Patricia.
This year, Golladay has been embroiled in a contract standoff with the Lions. Will the big changes help make him more apt to come back to the Lions and sign a deal? If this social media reaction is any indication, it certainly might not hurt things at all.
Former Lions Sounded Off About Matt Patricia
Typically, it is the fans that make the biggest noise about a coach and a coaching staff and their failings, but this season, there’s been a ton of former players speaking out saying they wish that Jim Caldwell would get his job back or speaking on how poorly the Lions have played. Former players have always had Caldwell’s back in Detroit and that has only grown given the troubles of Patricia to win big games and find consistency. Most forget amongst all of the noise and failure of the 2020 Lions that Caldwell had those same problems in Detroit on a smaller scale, but Patricia is making him look elite by comparison. That’s not a good sign as it relates to the current coach, and likely a big reason that Patricia ended up losing his job in the end.
Clearly, now that Patricia is gone, lots of former players will be exceedingly happy and fired up. Some of these reactions only prove just how much the now former coach was despised in the Motor City.