The New England Patriots utterly dominated the Tennessee Titans in the team’s first playoff game and, as a result, Tom Brady and company are seen as the favorites to claim yet another Super Bowl title. Part of New England’s ascent can be attributed to the defensive side of the ball, though, where the Patriots have improved vastly since a shaky start and the work of defensive coordinator Matt Patricia has been widely recognized as a result.
With that in mind, Patricia is now “likely” to take over as the Detroit Lions head coach, according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The 43-year-old has largely operated in the shadows (aside from a notable attire choice back in February) given the amount of defensive credit attributed to head coach Bill Belichick, but, in the same breath, Patricia has been widely linked to the New York Giants opening and it is not stunning that he would zoom to the head of the line with regard to the vacant Lions job.
If anything, this move makes complete sense for the Lions, as Detroit appears to be in good shape offensively with the pairing of quarterback Matthew Stafford and offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter. Defensively, though, there have been a lot of questions in the Motor City for quite some time and Patricia would theoretically address those needs with a high-level analytical mind.
The report indicates that Patricia and the Lions still have to agree to contract details once New England’s season is over but, if all goes according to plan, Detroit will be very interesting as the 2018 campaign approaches.
