Getty Matt Patricia looks on during Detroit's loss to Carolina.
The Detroit Lions had an embarrassing game against the Carolina Panthers, and the only question on the minds of many is when Matt Patricia might be fired as a result.
This week, the Lions have their customary quick turnaround before the holidays. As a result of that, Sports Illustrated writer Albert Breer doesn’t expect a move to be made quickly early in the week, but as he admits in his MMQB piece, things could change in a big way if the team plays poorly again on Thanksgiving Day.
Breer explained in a piece that “all bets could be off” the rest of the week if the Lions fail to show up and play hard against the Houston Texans and end up losing as they did this weekend.
Here’s what Breer wrote:
“I don’t expect the Lions to make any big moves on Monday. But given that Detroit plays on Thursday, I can’t say anything for certain for the rest of the week. If the Lions lose in the sort of fashion to Houston that they did to Carolina, I’d think all bets would be off.”
Detroit lost to the Panthers 20-0 and sustained arguably their most embarrassing loss of the Patricia era all things considered. Penalties, mistakes and missed opportunities doomed the Lions, who look far out of the playoff race at 4-6 even though their record might say otherwise. As a result, there are many calls for his dismissal from around the league.
Regardless, this could be yet another critical week for the future of the Detroit franchise coming up that could contain a potential boiling point.
Lions History Firing Coaches After Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving has been a barometer with which ownership has judged the Lions in the past. The most recent example of a coach being fired after the holiday is in 2005 when Steve Mariucci was sacked following an ugly loss against the Atlanta Falcons. While other coaches haven’t been fired after the holiday, it’s been more than clear the direction the team was prepared to go after a blowout on the big day. Case in point, 2008. The Lions lost in a laugher to the Tennessee Titans, and Rod Marinelli was all but finished even though he wasn’t fired.
This time around, the Lions might prefer to make a similar statement to 2005 if they feel like they are embarrassed enough by the outcome of the game. Everything could depend on what happens if the team loses and how bad they lose on their big day in front of the nation.
Matt Patricia’s Lions Tenure Growing Frustrating
Patrica’s 13-28-1 record is only getting worse by the week and isn’t a great way to build long term faith in a program. To say that Patricia’s tenure has been a mess has been a massive understatement. He’s struggled with a few things outside his control such as 2019’s injury outbreak, but there is no reason Patricia should be struggling in year 3 considering he had plenty of his players in his scheme and theoretically, a blank slate with which to work and add whomever he sees fit. Worse, Patricia has become known for his team’s inability to finish games and not beat the better teams he faces on the roster. Certainly, that’s been the most obvious calling card in his tenure for the most part. Now, he can add a loss to one of the worst teams in football during 2020 to his frustrating resume.
Will Patricia survive this season? That remains up in the air, but it’s clear many folks don’t believe that should be the case. It’s more than possible that this could be one of Patricia’s last weeks in Detroit if the team is compelled to make a move.
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