Getty Matt Patricia before a Lions game against Washington.
Matt Patricia was recently fired by the Detroit Lions and hasn’t said anything publicly since, so the thought that the coach was secretly speaking out on a burner Twitter account was likely a juicy and appealing thought for many fans.
On the internet, an account bearing the name @EddyPLionsFan appeared with the header that he was married with three children and a tech nerd. The account followed Lions players, beat writers and former New England players. The account also tweeted in a very positive way about Patricia, and talked about things that happened with the team in a way that would indicate they knew just a little bit more and were perhaps a bit too in the embattled former coach’s corner.
Many thought it was Patricia himself tweeting behind a pseudonym, but indeed it was a hoax. Dylan Cardwell, a Los Angeles fan with no interest in the Lions, revealed himself on Twitter as the man behind the Eddy P account, showing just how easy it is to fool people on social media these days.
Alright, I believe this has gone on long enough. Many of you know me as Dylan, but over the past 2 days, quite a few people have come to know me as Eddy P.
Cardwell did an interview with Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press in which he explained how he got the idea to troll Patricia. It had nothing to do with the coach or the Lions, just an idea he had to see how easy it would be to trick folks in the sports world coming off some highly publicized burner fiascos. He found some information about Patricia, posted a few takes and went right to work. Along the way, he catfished a ton of folks into thinking he might be Patricia.
All of that was false in the end, but certainly remains very funny. Reality says more folks probably should have seen this for the hoax it was a lot faster, but in this day in age, anything is possible thanks to the wild nature of the internet.
How Account Trolled Matt Patricia, Lions
The troll was a master job from the start, right down from the name of “Eddie P” to the way the account used Twitter. Edward, a simple Google search shows, is Patricia’s middle name. After tweeting in early September, the account went dark during the season right up until the days after Patricia was fired, and re-emerged with some beautiful takes that would have certainly tripped up the average person. For example, Eddy P claimed Matthew Stafford was “uncoachable” and the Lions should move on. He also tried to throw Bob Quinn under the bus for Detroit’s drafting strategy. Those personalities are a few hot button topics within the fanbase. Saying Stafford couldn’t be coached would really work the masses up.
@LionsBrawl Lions would be better off moving on. Stanford is uncoachable.
@C_Robbins_ @Injectbleach45 @AndrewSiciliano Using a 1st round pick on a tight end is the biggest gripe. There were other players that could have helped such as DL Ed Oliver who would have played very well in Patricia’s scheme.
While it looked good to the average person and certainly seemed fishy, none of it was true and the account was being run by a troll all along. Dylan Cardwell deserves a ton of credit for being able to keep the joke going as long as he did, though.
Matt Patricia’s Private Nature Made Burner Implausible
Reality says the ultra private Patricia has probably retreated to be close with his family in the wake of losing his job. Outside of football, Patricia was not a coach that Lions fans got to know that much about personally. He would often work late in Allen Park trying to figure out a way to get the team over the top, but it simply never materialized on the field, which was likely as heartbreaking to Patricia as the fanbase given how much he loves winning.
Indeed, Patricia has likely popped on a few Star Wars movies since the weekend and has proceeded to hang out with his kids. The thought that he was snooping around Twitter lobbing secret grenades at the Lions, Bob Quinn and certain players seemed funny, but was always very farfetched.
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