*Originally published on March 20, 2020
On Thursday, the Detroit Lions officially traded Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay to the Philadelphia Eagles for a 3rd round and 5th round draft pick. Following the trade, rather than going quietly into the night, Slay spent the day making sure everyone knew exactly how he felt about Lions head coach Matt Patricia and how Patricia was the main reason he wanted out of the Motor City.
Slay told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press that his lack of respect for Patricia stemmed from an incident that took place in 2018 when the Lions rookie coach called him out in front of his teammates. To read more about that, please click the link below.
Former Lions CB Darius Slay tosses Matt Patricia under bus, then backs up over him
On Friday, ESPN's Dan Orlovsky said the Detroit Lions organization “has a problem and it starts with their head coach.”
In regards to Slay's story about Patricia calling him out in front of the team, Orlovsky does not believe Patricia has earned the right to call out a team leader.
“When you haven't warranted that type of clout, and you go into that meeting room… players look around and say, ‘Why is he talking to one of our leaders?”
More Dan Orlovsky (on ESPN) on the Matt Patricia story Darius Slay told:
"When you haven't warranted that type of clout, and you go into that meeting room… players look around and say, 'Why is he talking to one of our leaders?"
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) March 20, 2020
I get it, coaches have different styles, but this is not a good look for the Detroit Lions.