COACHES CORNER
Matt patricia: New hope for lions Franchise
Grace Dolot
MAR. 19 --The Detroit Lions have a rich history…of losing. They are one of four teams who has never been to a Super Bowl, and one of two teams to hold the perfect losing season at 0-16. Whether they are 0-16 or finally making the playoffs, Lions fans continue to be hopeful and loyal. At the beginning of every preseason, you can hear fans whispering, “this is our year.” And maybe this is our year. After the Lions finished out their regular season, having just missed the playoffs, owner Martha Ford and general manager Bob Quinn fired Jim Caldwell after four of the best seasons since 1957. February 5th, Matt Patricia was officially announced as the new head coach for the Detroit Lions, bringing hope of winning to a hopeless team.
Matt Patricia’s background provides tremendous light to a dark franchise. After having graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute with a degree in aeronautical engineering, Patricia gave up a job making six-figures to coach at Amherst College as a defensive line coach for just $8000-year. Patricia demonstrates to Lions fans what he will do succeed. Within five years, he was an offensive assistant coaching with the New England Patriots, and by 2012 he was Bill Belichick’s defensive coordinator. General manager Bob Quinn was once with the Patriots, as well, and said, “‘Matt is driven to succeed, has extreme passion for the game and excels in preparation.’” Lions coaches have come and gone, all promising success to a cursed franchise, but Patricia’s risk taking in choosing coaching, his drive to excel, and passion for the game show Lions faithful that Patricia is willing to put in the hard-work needed to get the boys in blue into the playoffs and winning games.
But if hard-work and drive were the only things needed to make a losing team a winning one, the Lions would have been winning years ago. Matt Patricia also brings his great success to Detroit. In his six season as defensive coordinator, the Patriot’s defense never finished outside the top-10 in points allowed. Though the Patriots maintained a great record before Patricia’s tenure, Patricia’s unique talent is employing defenses that are extremely diverse, adjusting series after series. This fact, along with the talent the team has adds to Patricia’s opportunity to turn around a losing franchise and be the hero. With his defensive knowledge and Detroit’s big passing game from quarterback superstar Matt Stafford, Patricia has the opportunity to turn a seven-win season into more. Though the future looks bright, Patricia faces small challenges. Dan Orlovsky, former Lions quarterback, tells CBSSports that after Darius Slay, Ziggy Ansah, and Glover Quin — there is a lack of talent on the defense. But the biggest challenge Patricia faces is with no one to spear head the running game. All challenges aside, Patricia enters his first head coaching position with a solid foundation, and place to build during the offseason.
If that was not enough, what else do the Lions have to lose? It’s not as if the franchise is standing on a long history of winning. Over the last 26 years, the team has yet to win a playoff game, with their last win being in 1991 for a conference title. In seven of the last ten seasons the Lions have gone below .500. So why not take a chance on a coach who comes from one of the best NFL teams in the country? The worst that could happen is he gets fired like the rest of them. But here is to the 2018 season being “our year” under our new leader Matt Patricia.
​
​
Sources:
http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2018/01/09/former-lion-feels-bob-quinn-is-overselling-lions-potential/
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/det/coaches.htm