Detroit Lions: Matt Patricia or Bob Quinn; Whose seat is hotter?

The ‘Patriot Way’

Once Bob Quinn hired Matt Patricia and they decided to set sail on the course of building the ‘Patriot Way’ west, Quinn has added players such as Frank Ragnow, Kerryon Johnson, T.J. Hockenson, Da’Shawn Hand, Tracy Walker, Jahlani Tavai, Will Harris, Amani Oruwariye and Austin Bryant through the draft.

So far Ragnow, Tavai, and Walker have contributed the most. Kerryon Johnson has seen both of his seasons in Detroit marred by injury and Hand has followed up an outstanding rookie campaign to also have his season derailed by injury.

But detractors will point to draft mistakes like Teez Tabor and Michael Roberts which headline a disastrous 2017 draft class that netted only two starters (Golladay and Davis) and two depth players still with the club (Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Jamaal Agnew).

Bob Quinn has been mostly conservative in free agency. The only real splash signings he’s made were Marvin Jones, Rick Wagner, T.J. Lang, Devon Kennard, and Trey Flowers.

Lang is now retired due to brain injuries, Wagner hasn’t lived up to his contract as I already pointed out, Jones and Kennard have been productive additions and Flowers is finishing the year strong after injuries stifled his play early this season. However, Flowers still has a lot to live up to due to his large contract.

In general, the Lions are more talented and deeper since Quinn has arrived, but there are very few real game-changers that he has acquired with Kenny Golladay probably heading the list.

The biggest move that Quinn has made was the hiring of Matt Patricia as the Lions head coach. While building a roster is very important, it means little if the man chosen to coach those players doesn’t get the most out of them.

That brings us what Matt Patricia has been able to accomplish so far as the Detroit Lions head coach. Much like Bob Quinn, Patricia’s tenure hasn’t been as black and white as his win/loss record, but in the end that is the measuring stick by which all head coaches are measured.