The Detroit Lions have ruined many head coaches in the 60 years since their last championship, so why should it be any different for Matt Patricia?
After general manager Bob Quinn rung in the new year by sending former Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell packing, he went about the business of finding the man who would take the Lions to the next level.
It didn’t take Quinn long to find his man, but it did take long before he could hire him. As the New England Patriots defensive coordinator, Matt Patricia was committed to finishing their season before he could accept the Lions head coaching position.
This of course meant he was unavailable until after the Super Bowl. However, Patricia didn’t wait to start molding his coaching staff as he reportedly let several incumbent assistants go before he was officially announced as Lions new head coach.
All Lions fans, or anyone else outside of Boston, knew about him was the fact that his beard was majestic, he looked like an ornery pirate stalking the sidelines, he had a strange penchant for lodging pencils behind his eardrum and he is a rocket scientist.
But with all the difficulties we’ve had with coaches here in Detroit, that was enough for us to fall in love with him.
Then he stepped up to the microphone in Allen Park and showed the world who he really was.
As it turned out he was a personable guy with a sense of humor and voice about one octave higher than his looks would have us believe.
He also has the stigma of the Bill Belichick coaching tree to overcome as well.
So Bob Quinn has hitched his wagon and future to the idea that Matt Patricia will not only overcome the Belichick coaching tree mystique, but lead the Lions to the Super Bowl. The question is simple; can Patricia do it?