Apparently the “Patriot way” doesn’t work if you suck at what you do.
Saturday, the Lions ended one of the worst coaching reigns in franchise history when they fired Matt Patricia after less than three seasons with the team where he compiled a 13-29-1 record.
Not only that, the team also parted ways with the guy who hired him, general manager Bob Quinn who fired Jim Caldwell in order to hire his own guy from his days working in the front office of New England.
Not that Jim Caldwell was the right guy to lead the Lions, he wasn’t. Caldwell’s firing was justified and fans trying to rewrite the Caldwell era as some missed opportunity are completely forgetting the reasons why he was fired in the first place. The former Lions coach couldn’t win big games and was a mediocre coach at best.
Was he better than Patricia? Yes, but obviously that’s not saying much. Then there were the rape allegations from back during the mid-90s that surfaced against Patricia even before he stepped foot on the Lions sideline.
Aside from the Lions apparently unable to run a background check, the writing was on the wall with Patricia. Having been on the hot seat most of the season, the team has been utter dog shit most of the year, however, the past two weeks the Lions lost by a combined score of 61-25 to sub .500 teams. That included a 20-0 shutout against the Panthers and a 41-25 Thanksgiving stomping at the hands of the Texans who earlier this year fired their head coach Bill O’Brien.
And it wasn’t just Lions fans rejoicing at the news of Patricia and Quinn being shown the door in Allen Park. Former Lions players weighed in with delight:
Moving forward on the season, the Lions have named offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell as interim head coach.