5 NFL teams on the verge of implosion in the 2019 season
By Randy Gurzi
5. Detroit Lions
Teams continue to try and hire assistants from the New England Patriots and the results are usually less than desirable. Still, that doesn’t stop teams from trying to find the next Bill Belichick on his staff. That’s exactly what the Detroit Lions did last year as they selected Matt Patricia as their head coach following a long stint as an assistant in New England.
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There was some early success, including a win against his old team, but then the Lions started to lose. They wound up with a 6-10 record on the season but what was more concerning was the way Patricia conducted himself.
While demanding excellence from his team, Patricia often showed a superior attitude. One example of this was the way he berated a reporter for poor posture while being asked a question. He even told that reporter to “respect the process,” which is a line for the players, not those covering the team.
He also apparently holds himself to a different standard as the rookie head coach was said to be late to his own meetings often. He tried to clumsily explain that away and gave one of the weirdest answers as to why he’s late constantly.
"”I think it depends on the situation really,” Patricia said via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “It depends. There’s a pretty busy schedule from those situations I think for everybody. I think fluidity is probably the best answer for you.”"
In the end, it feels like this is a case of a coach who is going to wear out his welcome incredibly fast. That makes Detroit a team capable of falling apart pretty quickly.