Love ’em or hate ’em: Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia will be back
By Robert Jones
The Detroit Lions’ Martha Firestone Ford finally made her decision public. Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia will be back. But at what cost?
The Detroit Lions decided to give their fans an early Christmas present as they announced that general manager Bob Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia will be back next season. Maybe they should have just sprung for a fruitcake.
For the most part, the media and fans have expressed their desire to move on from the two-headed monster of Quinn and Patricia. In a world where working-class people everywhere are sent packing for not doing their job well enough, this is kind of the multi-million-dollar exception.
Yet for anyone who saw the 20-minute love-fest between Matt Patricia and Mrs. Ford last Sunday before the Lions kicked-off and subsequently were brutally massacred by an invasion of pewter pirates, this announcement isn’t much of a shock.
As a matter of fact, despite my willingness to be open-minded and give the Ford’s the benefit of a doubt that change was a possibility, I wasn’t surprised by this news. Had I been a gambler, I would have put my money on Black-beard awhile back.
Clearly Martha Firestone Ford believes this team is close but was done in by injuries this season. Was she watching the same defense we were? Perhaps not when we consider the ‘open letter’ to Lions fans. However, that is a subject for another day.
Bob Quinn has been steady and he has built more depth than this team typically has, but the real issue that hurts his credibility to return is; where are the play-makers? He has been here for four years and how many difference-makers has he brought in?
Meanwhile, Matt Patricia was the rocket-scientist, defensive guru of the New England Patriots dynasty. It was a mere formality that his landing in Detroit would turnaround a defense in need of improvement. Instead, after the defense showed signs of life in the second half of last season they returned this year and have played at a level that’s below what even this moribund franchise usually does.
How does a head coach that is a defensive specialist keep his job when his defense can’t stop the run or the pass?