LOOK: Detroit Lions WR Golden Tate has strong message for Matt Patricia

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NFL: Jacksonville Jaguars at Detroit Lions
Nov 20, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions wide receiver Golden Tate (15) smiles before the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

It’s Super Bowl week which means the Detroit Lions are getting closer and closer to being able to officially hire current New England Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia as their new head coach.

Most teams that hire a new head coach do so because they have been consistently losing football games. That is not exactly the case for the Lions, who fired Jim Caldwell following a 9-7 season, which left the team just short of a second-straight playoff berth. Instead, many believe the Lions are close to getting over the hump and contending for a Super Bowl.

For some veterans, bringing in a new head coach often means there will be a ton of change. That change takes time and time is not always something a player has to give.

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Lions wide receiver Golden Tate is in Minnesota for Super Bowl week and he had a strong message for Patricia as far as what he wants and does not want from his new head coach.

From Detroit Free Press:

“I don’t know much about him, other than he has a great beard for one,” Tate said. “And two, he’s coming from a winning organization that’s in the AFC championship or the Super Bowl pretty much yearly. And what I want to do is I want him to come in, I want to win right away. I don’t want to hear any developmental stuff. I don’t want to hear we’re almost there. It’s time to win right now, and that’s what I’m expecting. Especially being on year 9, running out of time.”

“I’m excited for whoever comes in,” Tate said. “As an older guy, one thing you worry about is getting outside of the routine and that’s what I don’t have right now. I don’t know what’s going to happen, how practice is going to be like, what all he’s going to change as far as personnel and the playbook. Playing time, I don’t know any of that. That can be scary at times.”

According to reports, Patricia is expected to retain Jim Bob Cooter as offensive coordinator, a move Tate agrees with.

“I think it’s very important because obviously Jim Bob has done a great job with developing Matt (Stafford), the receivers and really anyone around him as a young guy who has a lot of knowledge, has a great playbook, finds a way to get his guys the ball, so I definitely like that,” Tate said. “And when you’re dealing with new coaches and coaches leaving, you want to have something that you can always fall back to that you’re comfortable with, and Jim Bob is that.

“So hopefully the playbook doesn’t change all that much and guys roles just keep increasing and our run game becomes dominant as it should be.”

Golden Tate is correct, at 30-years-old, his time in the NFL is limited and he certainly has the right to want the current offensive system under Cooter to remain mostly the same. That being said, Patricia and the Lions are going to do what they think is best for the current roster as a whole.