Matt Patricia will be staying in Detroit a little while longer.
Lions owner Martha Ford announced Tuesday both Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn will remain in their positions for the 2020 NFL season, per ESPN’s Michael Rothstein. But some big improvements will have to take place in that time, she said.
“We expect to be a playoff contender and those are our expectations,” Ford told reporters, per Rothstein. “Which we’ve expressed to both Bob and to Matt.”
Meanwhile, Patricia simply is happy to continue what he’s started.
“I appreciate Mrs. Ford and her family so much and (team president) Rod (Wood) and Bob and everything that we’re trying to do here and what we’re trying to accomplish, where we’re trying to lead this organization,” Patricia said in a teleconference Tuesday. “It’s a process that we’re trying to go through to get the team to a highly competitive level that can sustain and be consistent and handle the ebbs and flows of an NFL season.
“… It’s something that we’re trying to lay a foundation for,” he added. “I think that we’ve seen some strides that we’ve made with the team this year. We obviously need to improve and build upon that going forward.”
After leading the Lions to back-to-back losing seasons, some have speculated Patricia and Quinn could be fired. But Lions vice chairwoman Sheila Ford Hamp said the team is “doing what is right for the organization.”
We’ll see if and when change comes to Detroit in 2020. In the meantime, the Loins will wrap up the 2019 season with games against the Denver Broncos and the Green Bay Packers.
