Matt Patricia’s first season as head coach of the Detroit Lions could be going worse — but not much worse.
The former New England Patriots defensive coordinator has had an up-and-down — but mostly down — first season in the Motor City. His extreme practice philosophy reportedly ticked off players during training camp, and he’s been embarrassingly combative with the Detroit media throughout the 2018 campaign. All the while, Patricia has drawn criticism for his rather disheveled appearance on the sidelines and the Lions have limped to 5-10 record.
Oh, and with the NFL’s “Black Monday” less than a week away, Patricia reportedly is on the hot seat.
But wait, there’s more.
Patricia, who presumably learned the importance of punctuality while working for the notoriously strict Bill Belichick, has been regularly late to weekly press conferences throughout the season, the Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett reported Wednesday. When asked about the importance of being punctual, Patricia offered a head-scratching response.
“I think it just depends on the situation really,” Patricia said, via Birkett. “It depends. There’s a pretty busy schedule from those situations I think for everybody. I think fluidity is probably the best answer for you.”
Now, it might be easy to forgive a coach for being late to media sessions. It’s not ideal, but it’s whatever.
Patricia, however, reportedly even is late to his own team meetings.
“Patricia’s lack of punctuality also has been an issue in team meetings this year, where one former player said the coach was consistently late during his months with the Lions,” Birkett wrote. “The player was granted anonymity so as to avoid reprisal from other coaches or teams in the league.”
For a guy who preaches accountability and reportedly comes down hard on players for breaking the rules, this is not a good look. Furthermore, if these accusations are true, they create a damning picture of a first-year head coach who, one would think, would want to be an exemplary leader.
Belichick would not be proud.
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