Detroit Lions: Matt Patricia is on the same hot seat as past coaches

As the Lions prepare for the upcoming season, they have the unenviable task of trying to contend in a tough division. The Minnesota Vikings will definitely be one of the preseason favorites to win it all. The Green Bay Packers with a healthy Aaron Rodgers are very tough to beat on any occasion and while the Chicago Bears are still behind the rest of the division, they are getting better and will not be an easy win.

So where does that leave the Lions? Last season they finished 9-7 with no ground game and a porous front seven on defense. In order for the Lions to just repeat that 9-7 record they will have to be better.

In order to win 10 games or more or contend for the NFC North title, they will have to be profoundly improved. Which means if the goal that Bob Quinn stated of being better is the reason that Jim Caldwell was relieved of his duties, then the new regime will need to start finding success quickly.

I was very vocal in my approval of Matt Patricia as the Lions new head coach. I believe he was the right choice and that he can do wonderful things with the organization, but that doesn’t mean he gets a free pass.

Will the Lions be good enough under him to win the division this year? Will they get that elusive first playoff victory since 1991? I am not in full belief that the roster is a championship caliber as yet, but with a good draft they are definitely good enough to to be in the divisional race, beat good teams and perhaps find their way into the playoffs.

This is, at the least, the task that Matt Patricia is charged with. Show results. Get good wins and field an improved product.

So what happens if they slump to 7-9? Then this whole regime failed. That doesn’t mean you pull the plug after one season, but they better get it right pretty quickly.

The Lions have been nothing more than pretenders for over 60 years. Rome wasn’t built in a day and the change in philosophy and scheme means that all the current pieces that were on the roster before free agency and the draft are not necessarily perfect fits for what Matt Patricia wants to do.

There will be some adjustments that need to occur, but the underlying element is simple; can Patricia and his staff get the most out of these players?

While we can speculate all we want, we won’t know for sure until next season. This team will either improve and start collecting some quality wins against good opponents or they will flounder and prove themselves to be the ‘same old Lions’.

Next: Detroit Lions 7-Round Mock Draft 4.0

Year one of a coaching change is never do or die, but we’ve already had way too many honeymoons in Detroit.

It’s time to prove something.