Getty Darius Slay makes a gesture in a Giants game.
The Detroit Lions typically have one of the more engaged alumni bases in the NFL, and that is always proven true as the games are playing out on the field and misery is finding the team.
Detroit has had a very vocal alumni base sharing their thoughts on the team this season, and that continued to be amplified as the team was struggling early and often against the Houston Texans. Following a fumble by seldom used running back Jonathan Williams, former Detroit defensive back Darius Slay had plenty to say on Twitter, explaining he felt that Kerryon Johnson should be getting those carries.
My boy @AyeyoKEJO should be back there carrying that rock too!!!
Fans will remember that Slay left town beefing with Matt Patricia and the Detroit staff as a result of some run-ins the duo had. Clearly, Slay isn’t going to stop giving his opinion during the game that he used to play in that he now gets to take in as a spectator.
Slay is far from the only former player speaking up during the Thanksgiving Day game, however.
Ryan Broyles Campaigns for Jim Caldwell Return
Over the past few weeks, the Lions have seen plenty of former players come out and defend their former head coach Jim Caldwell. Ndamukong Suh, Dan Orlovsky and Stephen Tulloch have all come out and complained that the team looks sloppy and compared the Patricia era with that of Caldwell. Now, former wideout Ryan Broyles has been joining the chorus of voices that want to see Caldwell come back to the team considering what he was able to do when he was boss.
Give Jim Caldwell his job back!
Broyles didn’t stick long with the Lions, but he did get to know Caldwell enough to be in the corner of the coach as well as consider himself a Lions voice. He still tweets about the team from time to time even though he is no longer in the NFL. Add him to the list of former players firmly in the corner of his former coach and his return.
Former Lions Vocal About Matt Patricia
Typically, it is the fans that make the biggest noise about a coach and a coaching staff, but this season, there’s been a ton of former players speaking out saying they wish that Jim Caldwell would get his job back. 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.
Nevertheless, it seems more former Lions are getting their shots in at Patricia as the coach continues to struggle making his mark in the Motor City. Things are getting anxious in terms of his future as a result of this kind of noise.
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