The perceived favourite to be the next head coach of the Detroit Lions has completed his interview with the club.
Patricia interviews with Lions and still considered frontrunner for job
Jim Parker, Windsor Star
New England Patriots defensive co-ordinator Matt Patricia has interviewed with the Detroit Lions for the club's vacant head coaching job and is considered the frontrunner.
The perceived favourite to be the next head coach of the Detroit Lions has completed his interview with the club.
New England Patriots defensive co-ordinator Matt Patricia was the sixth person to interview for the job, which was left vacant when Jim Caldwell was fired after four seasons last week.
However, Patricia is considered the lead candidate for several reasons, which include the fact he has won three Super Bowls in 14 seasons with the Patriots and 12 of those seasons were spent when Lions general manager Bob Quinn was with the club.
“I’m not getting into any specifics about any rumor to be candidates,” Quinn said when asked about Patricia last week. “The only thing we’re going to comment on is when we finish up each interview. And then when we hire someone, we can talk about whoever we hire.”
The 43-year-old Patricia has made a name for himself with the Patriots, but his intelligence extends beyond the football field. He has a degree in aeronautical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
He started his coaching career at RPI in 1996 and then moved on to Amherst and Syracuse before moving to the NFL with New England as an offensive assistant in 2004.
Patricia served as an offensive line coach in 2005 before moving over to defence to coach linebackers from 2006-10 and then to safeties in 2011. He became New England’s defensive co-ordinator in 2012.
Ne England’s defence has been ranked in the top 10 in fewest points allowed every season since Patricia became co-ordinator and was No. 1 in the NFL in 2016. The club ranked fifth this past season in points allowed.
Aside from Patricia, the Lions have also interviewed Minnesota Vikings offensive co-ordinator Pat Shurmur, Detroit defensive co-ordinator Teryl Austin and offensive co-ordinator Jim Bob Cooter have also interviewed for the job along with and Houston Texans defensive co-ordinator Mike Vrable and
Green Bay Packers assistant head coach and linebackers head coach Winston Moss.
The Lions are still expected to interview Carolina Panthers defensive co-ordintaro Steve Wilks this week.
Comments
We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.