Things have gotten very ugly in regards to the Detroit Lions.
Following their 38-17 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon, the Lions are now 3-10-1 with just a pair of games remaining on the schedule.
Some fans are wearing paper bags over their heads while others are wearing “Sell The Team” shirts to Ford Field. Heck, one fan even brought a giant “Sell The Team” banner which was shown clearly on the FOX telecast.
http://gty.im/1188981116
Since taking over as head coach of the Lions prior to the 2018 season, Matt Patricia has led the team to a 9-20-1 record and many fans have begun begging for him to be fired rather than giving him a third year.
Nobody knows which way Lions owner Martha Ford (and her family) is leaning but she will certainly have an important decision to make when the season officially ends. Will she continue to honor Patricia’s contract or will she cut her losses and move on?
Kyle Meinke of MLive is betting that Patricia’s fate has already been decided.
From MLive:
I’m willing to bet Matt Patricia’s fate has already been decided by the Fords. Which was an interesting notion to consider on Sunday morning, as Patricia spent about 20 minutes chatting with owner Martha Firestone Ford and her daughter, Sheila, on the sideline during pregame warmups. It seemed friendly enough, with Sheila — the real power broker in Detroit, who has the ear of her mother and handles so much of the day-to-day operation — doing much of the talking. Patricia politely declined my question about the confab.
“A lot of just general conversation and just catching up, and some of those things,” Patricia said. “We had the meetings this week, so just kind of talking a little bit. That’s about all.”
What happens to Patricia and Quinn remains anyone’s guess. But here’s guessing that fate has already been determined. The football is bad right now, but there is nothing to glean from it. What can you learn about Matt Patricia’s abilities as a head coach by watching him trot out Wes Hills at running back and David Blough at quarterback and Frank — hang on, let me check my program — Herron playing three fewer snaps than Trey Flowers at defensive end?
The decision is probably in the bag, and all things considered, I still think Patricia stays in place. I don’t think the Fords have an appetite for another rebuild. I think they want to see this one through first, and avoid the purgatory that awaits most teams that fire coaches every year or two. And a 10th loss in 11 weeks, ugly as it was for the few thousand fans brave enough to actually attend this game, won’t change whatever ownership’s thinking already is.
Nation, do you agree with Meinke that a decision is “already in the bag?” If you do, what do you think that decision is?
