Several members of the Bill Belichick coaching tree have failed with head coaching gigs of their own because they try to be too much like the future Hall of Famer, and Matt Patricia may be following in the same path.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported on Sunday that some of Patricia’s methods were not well-received in his first offseason with the Detroit Lions. Like Belichick, Patricia went hard on players in training camp, which many of them were apparently not accustomed to.
“Matt Patricia went really hard on these guys in camp. There was a lot of contact there. There’s a lot of harsh criticism, from what I’m told,” Garafolo said. “There’s not a lot of, ‘Hey, good job!’ There’s a lot of, ‘Hey, bad job, bleep, bleep, bleep.'”
Garafolo also said Patricia has implemented a lot of new rules for the team, including one that states you can’t take any photos from inside the locker room and post them on social media.
“Matt Patricia is trying to establish some kind of culture there, and the veterans are not very happy,” he said.
Belichick’s style has worked for him for many years, but it is one that players respond to in large part because of his resume. When younger coaches like Patricia, Josh McDaniels and Eric Mangini try to replicate it elsewhere, they have found it difficult to earn the same type of respect their mentor has in New England.
Coincidentally or not, Patricia’s first game as a head coach went horribly on Monday night. His Lions were blown out by the New York Jets, and fans on social media were not kind to the former Pats defensive coordinator.
