Matt Patricia had a great deal of success as the New England Patriots defensive coordinator. Part of that was the credit his players gave him for his ability to put them in position to succeed and teach them how to play their positions effectively.
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Another part was the relationships he built with his players. They knew he cared for them and whether he had to cuss them out for mistakes they made or was celebrating with them after big plays and wins, his players bought into him because he was genuine, true to himself and the results were visible.
Now as the Lions top dog he no longer seems to have the connection with his players he did in New England. Perhaps he feels like he needs to keep a certain distance as the head coach since he has to be able to waive or trade players in the effort to assemble the best roster possible.
Regardless of why, it does seem to me that while the players aren’t in general pleased with being worked harder than the previous administration did, they would probably accept it better if they had the type of relationship his former players in New England enjoyed with him.
The Matt Patricia that has been on the Lions sidelines throughout the preseason and last weeks opening night disaster seems to be a different Matt Patricia than the one that stalked the sidelines in New England.
Maybe it’s just because of how poorly his players have performed. Maybe it’s because of the players not ‘buying in’ to his system. Regardless of the issue, here’s one nugget that is irrevocably true; no head coach ever succeeded without being true to themselves.
The clock is ticking like a time-bomb and Matt Patricia has to defuse it. We all know Patricia is a rocket scientist, so he needs to figure out what wire to cut in order to unite this team and give themselves a chance to turn things around on the field before they completely self-destruct.
Because until the players see the type of success on the field that Patricia is supposed to bring to this beleaguered franchise, he will be just another Lions coach who overworks them and doesn’t know what he’s doing in their eyes.
Even if it is their responsibility to execute their assignments no matter who is coaching them.