By the sounds of things, Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn is going to get his man, he just has to be patient for a bit longer.
Unless something absolutely crazy happens, New England Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia will be the next head coach of the Lions. At this point, Patricia is a lock for the job but has to wait until the Patriots season is completed, which includes a matchup in Super Bowl LII against the Philadelphia Eagles.
But not too long ago, Patricia reportedly favored the New York Giants and though Quinn and the Lions had him at the top of their list, it seemed like they would lose out to the big market team.
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So, what happened to make Patricia pick the Lions over the Giants?
Well, according to the New York Post, though Patricia was a candidate to land the head coaching gig in New York, the Giants were never at the top of his list. In fact, the New York Post added that people close to Patricia did not feel like he was ready for a high-profile job like the Giants.
From New York Post:
There is no doubt Matt Patricia, the Patriots defensive coordinator, was a legitimate Giants candidate, but the Giants were never Patricia’s first choice, which is why he is headed to Detroit as the next Lions head coach. A second NFL source with inside knowledge of New England’s coaching staff believes Patricia will be better off in Detroit than he would have been making his head coaching debut in the New York/New Jersey fishbowl. “The people I spoke to that work with him and know him didn’t think he was ready for a high-profile job,’’ the source told The Post. “They thought it would be Detroit or Arizona, where he could kind of cut his teeth, they didn’t think he was ready to leave the nest yet.’’
Though it is important to note that those are not words out of the horse’s mouth, if the sources quotes are correct and Patricia would just be “cutting his teeth” as coach in Detroit, could the Lions just be a stepping stone for the Bill Belichick disciple?
Only time will tell.
