Lions commit to Matt Patricia for 2020, lay out their expectations
Matt Patricia is going to get an opportunity to coach the Detroit Lions for a third year, but ownership has made it clear it will be his last if the team is not in the playoff hunt late in the season.
On Tuesday, Lions owner Martha Firestone Ford told reporters that both Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn will return in 2020. However, Ford said Detroit’s ownership group expects Patricia to make staff changes and essentially made it clear he will be fired if the team doesn’t have a winning record next December.
“We expect to be a playoff contender,” Mrs. Ford told https://t.co/GuQ9WAOUfS. “That means playing meaningful games in December.”
— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) December 17, 2019
The Lions have lost seven games in a row and are going to finish in last place in the NFC North for a second consecutive season. Patricia was likely given the benefit of the doubt this year because Matthew Stafford has been out for more than a month with a back injury, and he was having one of the best seasons of his career prior to that. Although, Detroit had lost four of the last five games in which Stafford played.
Detroit went 9-7 in both 2016 and 2017 before firing Jim Caldwell and bringing in Patricia, so you can understand why fans are frustrated. Patricia cracked a clever joke about his job security after the Lions’ latest loss on Sunday, but he will be on a very short leash next season.
