Detroit Lions: Offseason moves will most likely decide this regime’s fate
By Robert Jones
If the Detroit Lions’ Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia do return, their ultimate fate will most likely be determined during the offseason.
The Detroit Lions and their fans have little to look forward to until the season is over. Because this will be a very big offseason in determining the course this franchise goes.
The first factor will be Martha Firestone Ford’s decision whether to retain the Lions’ current regime of general manager Bob Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia.
The media and much of the fan base are calling for change. Bob Quinn fired Jim Caldwell two years ago because 9-7 wasn’t good enough. So a borderline playoff team was given a new head coach with a new direction to get them over the top.
Unfortunately for Lions fans, it hasn’t worked out. Instead under the direction of Bob Quinn and his long-time friend Matt Patricia, they have regressed from a team that was only one win away from the playoffs to a team that seems to be ready for a complete rebuild.
Only Quinn and Patricia aren’t game-planning for a complete rebuild. They understand very well how important it is to win next season in order for them to keep their jobs.
So the first indicator of what the Lions will do this offseason will be determined by Mrs. Ford’s decision to either keep Quinn and Patricia at the helm or to send them packing. Which would be a package deal, make no mistakes about that.
If Martha Firestone Ford decides that new leadership is needed, that would without doubt usher in a complete rebuild. A new general manager, who would need to hire a new head coach, who would bring in a whole new system, can only mean big changes.
It also means a new timetable even though a coach like Sean McVay in Los Angeles took over a 4-12 team and immediately led them to two straight first-place finishes in his first two seasons as well as a Super Bowl appearance.
However, the big difference there was that McVay inherited a young quarterback to build the franchise around. The Lions have a veteran franchise quarterback who now has a questionable back.