RPI Alumni becomes 3rd NFL Coach Fired This Season
It felt like Matt Patricia never really stood a chance to succeed as the Detroit Lions Head Coach. From his first few practices, the press criticized everything he did including but not limited to making players run laps for mistakes, even digging deep into his past. Put the media pressure together with two-plus injury-plagued seasons and disgruntled players and Patrica is no longer the Head Coach of the Lions. He and General Manager Bob Quinn were both fired earlier today.
At the end of the day, the NFL is a results-driven league and with a 13 - 29 - 1 record no amount of excuses will save your job. Matt Patricia will now be looking for employment most likely taking a step back to Defensive Coordinator, the position that Patricia won three Super Bowl rings with New England. With fellow former Patriots assistants coaching all over the NFL right now it's hard to imagine Patricia will be unemployed very long. Just looking locally in the New York Giants if assistant HC and DC Patrick Graham gets a chance to run his own team I'd have to think former Patriot assistant and current Giants HC Joe Judge would be interested in working with Patricia.
Matt Patricia was a four-year letterman playing Guard and Center for the RPI Engineers from 1992 to 1995. Patricia's coaching career began as a graduate assistant at RPI in 1996. From there he had stops at Amherst and Syracuse at the college level before joining the New England Patriots coaching staff in 2004. Where he held various positions before he became the DC position from 2012 - 2017 then becoming the Lions HC in 2018.
Anyone that's listened to Levack and Goz on 104.5 The Team Knows about Goz's bromance with Patricia that began on Super Bowl 51 Media Night.