Matt Patricia is a rocket scientist, but can he be a football genius?
By Robert Jones
The Detroit Lions have decided they have faith in Matt Patricia to turnaround this franchise, but can his book smarts finally translate into wins?
The Detroit Lions will finish the season with an abysmal record earning them a high draft pick. But are there any guarantees that will help them bounce back next season and play like contenders?
The NFL is a league of ‘have’s’ and ‘have not’s’. There really isn’t much guesswork as to which the Lions are. The Lions were the envy of the NFL in the 1950s. Both Detroit and the Cleveland Browns both won three world championships. In head-to-head match-ups, the Lions defeated the Browns two out of three times in the championship game.
Bobby Layne and his pack of Lions were a talented, tough team that others admired and wished they could be like. Consider this; the Pittsburgh Steelers, who were perennial losers at that time could only hope to have a fraction of the success those Lions teams had.
But today… well, the Steelers obviously turned their franchise around and are still one of the league standards. Meanwhile, the Lions completely went the opposite direction.
Once the kings of the NFL, the Lions became the poster team for hapless and helpless. For over 60 years they have been virtually toothless and barely able to muster even a modicum of a roar.
Yet two years ago general manager Bob Quinn hired Matt Patricia as the man to save the Detroit Lions football franchise. Under his guidance, they would play smart, tough football and become a defensive juggernaut.
Two seasons into the Patricia era the results have been disappointing. there have been some bright spots, but almost as soon as they occur, those spots become ‘Lionized’ and the same old losers we have watched and supported our whole lives return.
Now with Martha Firestone Ford announcing that Matt Patricia will return for his third year as the Lions head coach next season, both the fans and media have become trepidatious about what will happen next.