In his second season as head coach of the Detroit Lions, Matt Patricia lead his team to a 3-12-1 record.
http://gty.im/1025398106
Despite finishing well under .500 and out of the NFL Playoffs for a second-consecutive season, both Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn were given another year to right the ship.
That being said, Lions owner Martha Ford has reportedly made it clear to both Patricia and Quinn that they must contend for the playoffs in 2020 if they want to be around past the 2020 season. What exactly “contend” means, nobody really knows but we do know that another 3-win season will not get it done.
On Thursday, NFL Senior Media Analyst Gil Bradt published a piece outlining what must happen for Patricia to keep his job beyond the coming season.
1) Matthew Stafford and the run game need to be right. Stafford’s early portion of 2019 — including a 19:5 TD-to-INT ratio and a passer rating of 106 in eight games — was an exceptionally strong stretch. It’s not a coincidence that the Lions‘ season really flew off the rails after a back injury shut Stafford down in November. Getting a full season out of Stafford at the peak of his powers (and resisting the temptation to trade him!) would be a major boon to Detroit’s competitive hopes. Injuries also took the air out of Detroit’s rushing attack, with a raft of replacement starters failing to make up for the absence of Kerryon Johnson for eight games with a knee injury. Johnson has missed 14 of 32 games in his NFL career thus far, so the Lions must decide whether to continue counting on him as a bell-cow back or seek out an insurance policy via the draft or free agency.
2) The defense must play better. One of the biggest surprises of Patricia’s tenure so far has been the lackluster performance of Detroit’s defense under a coach who burnished a reputation as a defensive whiz in New England. After a relatively strong 10th-place finish in 2018, Detroit plummeted to 31st on defense in 2019. The pass rush in particular remains a major issue, with the Lions ranking 29th in sacks (28), even after signing Trey Flowers from New England last offseason. And, outside of three-time Pro Bowler Darius Slay at corner, the secondary needs major work — new defensive coordinator Cory Undlin’s experience as a defensive backs coach (including five seasons in Philadelphia and two in Denver) should come in handy there. Speaking of Slay, his recent desire for a new contract and rumors he might be traded could complicate this project.
3) Detroit must make the right choice with the No. 3 overall pick. Lions brass will have to think long and hard about this one. In terms of the immediate future, Detroit could use the pick to fill a roster need — say, along the defensive line, with Damon Harrison mulling retirement and A’Shawn Robinson and Mike Daniels headed for free agency — or trade down to plug even more holes. (Notably, Patricia and his staff had the benefit of coaching in the Senior Bowl and working firsthand with some of this year’s top prospects.) That said, might they be tempted to draft the quarterback of the future if the right player is sitting there?
Playoffs or bust? Yes — owner Martha Firestone Ford made it clear that she expects Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn to be “playing meaningful games in December.” That might seem tough, given Patricia won just three games in 2019. But in my opinion, the NFC North is more open than people think. I’m not sold on Green Bay, which finished 13-3 despite ranking in the middle of the pack in most stats, and Aaron Rodgers is on the wrong side of 35. Chicago is facing a serious quarterback question. Minnesota appears to be the team to beat, but I think the Lions should be pretty good if Stafford can stay right.
–Excerpt courtesy of Gil Bradt, NFL.com– LINK
