On Tuesday, Martha Ford announced that the Detroit Lions will retain both Matt Patricia and Bob Quinn for another season. Here’s why it’s the wrong move.
On Tuesday, Detroit Lions owner Martha Firestone Ford, her daughter, Sheila Ford Hamp, along with team president Rod Wood announced their decision to keep the duo of head coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn for the 2020 season.
The reasoning behind their decision to keep both Quinn and Patricia despite the team’s 9-20-1 record over the past two seasons can be summed up in two words. Progress and patience.
Ford and company believed they saw enough progress through the first half of this season to believe the Lions can be a playoff team in 2020. And they honestly believe this team can be a contender, playing meaningful games next December.
Through the Lions’ first right games of 2019, the team went 3-3-1. Their wins coming against the 5-9 San Diego Chargers, 7-7 Philadelphia Eagles, and 3-11 New York Giants. Not exactly the NFL elite.
Of course, Detroit hasn’t won a single game since Week Eight. But the built-in excuses are at the ready with quarterback Matthew Stafford having spent the last six weeks on the bench due to back injury. Although, the team wasn’t playoff-caliber when Stafford was under center posting a disappointing 3-4-1 record.
The fact is this is just another in a long line of mistakes made by the Lions brass. And these kinds of decisions are exactly why this team hasn’t won a playoff game since 1992.
After posting a 6-10 record in 2018, we’ve seen nothing in the past 16 weeks to lead anyone to believe the Lions will be a playoff-worthy team in 2020. Yet, that’s the expectation set by Ford for both Quinn and Patricia next season. Here’s what Ford told the Detroit Free Press.
"“We expect to be a playoff contender (in 2020) and those are our expectations, which we’ve expressed to both Bob and to Matt.”"
There is absolutely no reason to believe Quinn and Patricia can make that happen. Where’s the evidence? You are going to keep this disastrous duo in Detroit for another season based on three wins against some of the worst teams in the NFL this season? It’s madness.
The fact the Lions field one of the worst defenses in the league, allowing an average of 401.9 yards to opposing offenses ranking them 31st in the NFL, should be enough to move on from this terrible tandem.
Patricia was known for being a defensive genius as a Super Bowl-winning coordinator for the New England Patriots for six seasons. His calling card as a head coaching candidate has quickly become the Lions’ biggest weakness. Is that not proof enough?
Yet, somehow, Quinn and Patricia have poured honey into the ears of upper management and Lions ownership. Undoubtedly whispering sweet mentions of past glories in New England.
At this point, the success of Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is all the credibility this duo has left. And that appears to be enough to justify keeping the New England Midwest experiment going for another season.
If you are a Detroit Lions fan, you have to feel sick about this decision, as both Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia enter a lame-duck season with no support from a tired fanbase. Expect more ex-Patriot signings and ineffective draft picks chosen to fit a failing scheme next offseason as Quinn and Patricia continue to try and prove they are more than just the latest Belichick disciples who have fallen short.