During his time playing for the Detroit Lions under head coach Matt Patricia, Darius Slay was miserable. It is well documented that Slay felt disrespected by Patricia and him not bowing down to Patricia is likely why he was eventually traded to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Before playing for Patricia, Slay played for one of the most loved Lions’ coaches of all-time, Jim Caldwell.
By all accounts, Caldwell was more of a players’ coach than Patricia could ever dream of being but according to Slay, who recently joined Sean Baligian and Joique Bell on the Baligian and Bell show, it was Caldwell who had more rules.
“It was like a respect thing, mainly,” Slay said. “Caldwell treated us with respect. To be honest, Caldwell had more rules. But, Caldwell did it in more of a professional way. We always had a big issue with our shirts tucked in during practice. He (Caldwell) didn’t cuss you out about it. He would politely ask to have our shirts tucked in, give you one warning and then you get fined. It wasn’t that big of a deal.”
Slay added that Caldwell was more “manly” about enforcing rules compared to Patricia.
“Under Patricia, it was more like — m’fing you and all that kind of other stuff. Caldwell was more manly about it … We are all grown men.”
@Lions Announce Dan Campbell, Former Lions Cornerback @bigplay24slay Joins The Show, and NFL Power Rankings | Baligian and Bell Show https://t.co/wABw7e1PIv
— Woodward Sports Network (@woodwardsports) January 20, 2021
