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When Matt Patricia arrived for his second stint with the New England Patriots, it was a chance to revitalize his career after his first head coaching experience. Former Detroit Lions cornerback Darius Slay detailed just how poorly Patricia performed as a head coach.
Patricia spent three seasons as a head coach of the Lions and was far from successful. He went 13-29-1 in his first stint as a head coach. In his best season, Patricia went 6-10 during the 2018 season.
Slay was drafted by the Lions in the 2013 NFL Draft but ended up leaving Detroit after the 2019 season. While patrolling the Lions secondary, Slay tallied 347 tackles, 104 passes defended, 19 interceptions, and two touchdowns per Pro Football Reference.
In a recent podcast appearance, Slay detailed the first time that he Patricia rubbed him the wrong way.
According to Slay, Patricia called the cornerback into his office and told him he wasn’t elite and chastised him for working out that with fellow corners such as Richard Sherman, Aqib Talib and Xavier Rhodes.
“He told me, out of his mouth, he said, ‘Those are elite guys. You’re not elite. You’re a good player, but they are elite. And Sherman’s smart. He used you.’ He tried to say Sherm used me to know what (then-Lions receiver) Marvin Jones do. I said, ‘He can find out what Marvin Jones do watching film. That ain’t got nothing to do with me,'” Slay said.
Slay then detailed another incident where Patricia was disrespectful to the cornerback. Slay had posted a picture with Odell Beckham Jr. and Patricia wasn’t pleased with that.
“He told me in front of the whole team … stop sucking this man’s private. So I’m like, ‘Whoa.’ I’m like, ‘Hold up,'” said Slay. “Where I’m from, that don’t fly. Cause I wouldn’t say that to him. I wouldn’t say to him to stop you-know-what to Bill Belichick. I wouldn’t do that. That’s just not me as a man. That’s disrespectful to me and so from there on it was done with.”
How Has Patricia Performed in New England?
2022 is Patricia’s first season with a coaching assignment. After a season where Patricia had a generic role, he is now an offensive assistant and offensive lineman coach.
The offensive line struggled throughout training camp and preseason but have been able to turn things around in the regular season. Through two games, New England has rushed for over 200 yards along with a touchdown.
What Patriots Player Has a Secret Nickname?
While not able to perform on the field due to an injury, rookie wide receiver Tyquan Thornton has been able to get to know his teammates.
Thornton and quarterback Mac Jones seem to have built some chemistry and in his weekly interview on WEEI, Jones said that Thornton has a secret nickname.
“He has a nickname. You’ll never guess it,” Jones said. “You’ll have to ask him.”
The hosts took a few guesses, throwing out names like Jack Skellington from “Nightmare Before Christmas” or Roadrunner of “Looney Tunes” fame, but Jones said that the nickname wasn’t any of those.
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