FOXBORO, Mass. — If Matt Patricia gets hired away from New England to fill a head-coaching vacancy, Patriots safety Devin McCourty gave the defensive coordinator’s new team fair warning: Matty P can be hard to please.
Take for example when the Patriots’ defense held the defending-NFC Champion Atlanta Falcons to seven points in a 23-7 Week 7 win. The Patriots had blanked the Falcons until there was 4:09 left in the fourth quarter, when Atlanta put together an 11-play, 88-yard, five-minute drive, capped off with a 1-yard touchdown pass from Matt Ryan to Julio Jones.
All is good, right? Wrong.
“Everyone’s so happy, we played Atlanta, only gave up seven points, and Matty P was pissed,” McCourty said Wednesday. “He was just — and that’s what we watched the next day. We came in here and we watched that drive on how we didn’t have to give up those points.
“To me, that’s him. You’re not going to get him to lower his standards. He expects the best out of the first group we put on the field and the last group, in training camp, in the spring. We got cursed out in the spring for giving up touchdowns in 7-on-7 red-area where the ball started at the 7-yard line. Then Matty P came in there and ripped us. I think, obviously, as players, you get mad at that, but if you’re wise enough to realize that’s what helps you become a better individual player and collectively a better defense.”
McCourty said Patricia brings a consistent energy and passion “that usually have a lot of curse words of him yelling at us.”
It’s appreciated, though.
“He’s a great coach, taught me a lot,” cornerback Stephon Gilmore said Wednesday. “A lot of stuff I didn’t know in the past, he taught me. He’s a great coach. Happy that he’s my defensive coordinator. …
“He puts us in position to make plays. He coaches hard, and that’s what it takes to get the best out of their players.
Based on reports, Patricia is as good as gone from the Patriots this offseason. Head-coaching jobs are open with the New York Giants, Detroit Lions, Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts and Oakland Raiders. Patricia reportedly has received interest from the Giants, Lions and Cardinals.
It’s clear Matty P will be missed by his former players if he does leave New England.
