Detroit Lions: Was Matt Patricia the right choice?

This offseason the Detroit Lions thought they had landed themselves the best coaching candidate available. But did they make the right choice?

Following their final game of the 2017 regular season, the Detroit Lions made the controversial decision to move on from head coach Jim Caldwell. That’s despite Caldwell leading the team to unprecedented success, posting three winning seasons during his four-year tenure along with two playoff berths.

With general manager Bob Quinn at the helm, two obvious names came to the forefront when projecting possible replacements for Caldwell. Those coaching candidates being Matt Patricia and Josh McDaniels. Both of whom were coordinators with the New England Patriots, Quinn’s longtime former employer.

Patricia, a defensive guru, seemed to be the better fit in Detroit as the Lions’ passing attack was already considered one of the best in the NFL (ranking sixth overall in 2017). So when the Lions landed the former Patriots’ defensive coordinator, who had helped New England make six Super Bowl appearances during his 14-year stint with the Pats, it seemed like a match made in Heaven.

But there were other names for Detroit to consider as well. Candidates like Mike Vrabel (Tennessee Titans), Pat Shurmur (New York Giants), Steve Wilks (Arizona Cardinals), Jon Gruden (Oakland Raiders), Matt Nagy (Chicago Bears) and Frank Reich (Indianapolis Colts).

Out of this group, three new head coaches currently have a better record than Patricia and the Lions. Those being Nagy (8-3 Bears), Reich (6-5 Colts) and Vrabel (5-6 Titans).

Getting Patricia from the Pats figured to be a big bonus for Detroit. But there was also the fear that the majority of former coordinators from the Bill Belichick coaching tree have failed to duplicate his success. And through his first 11 games as a head coach, Patricia has provided little evidence that his methods will yield a playoff-caliber team in Detroit.

Here’s what Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press had to say in response to a recent mailbag question about Patricia’s attempt to change the culture in Motown.

"“[Patricia] came in determined to do business in a very Patriot-like manner, because that’s what he knows, but that style is not for everyone. The long days, the grinding practices, the tenor of teaching can wear on folks especially when it’s not accompanied by wins. That’s what happened, and now that we’re heading towards December and the wins still aren’t there, it’s easy for players to look around and ask why?”"

Birkett would go on to add that Patricia has certainly started to change the culture this season, but it has not resulted in enough wins. Yet, we haven’t seen enough to know if it eventually will.

Was Matt Patricia the right choice for the Detroit Lions? Would they have been better off this season if they had kept Caldwell instead? Or was another coaching candidate better suited to find success in Detroit? These questions will continue to linger as long as the Lions keep losing under Patricia. He was expected to bring a winning culture to Motown. So far, it’s been the same old Lions instead.