BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – Love is word that gets thrown around, but after listening to the Patriots defensive players speak this week, it’s clear they love their defensive coordinator, Matt Patricia.
Case in point was Malcolm Butler. He admitted that Patricia has been tough on him through his first four NFL seasons, but says the coach has a softer side that he allows his players to see. He’s also not afraid to throw around the L word.
“One day he came up to me and just said, ‘you know I love you, right?’ I said, ‘yup.’ I believe it because I love him, too,” Butler said, “He’s just a great coach, man. A great coach. Football, without football, he’s just great. He’s a good dude. I promise you.”
Super Bowl LII is likely Patricia’s last run as the Patriots defensive coordinator as he’s set to become the head coach of the Detroit Lions. The defensive coach, who once turned down a high profile engineering job to get into football, has impressed his players on multiple different levels.
“He can be mean whenever you mess one of his plays up You mess one of his plays up, he will get mean,” Butler said. “But Matty P is the guy that my rookie year when I make a rookie mistake, he will sit me down and say, ‘look, you can’t do this, you can’t do that.’ He’ll be like, ‘you might think you’re doing the right thing, but you’re not.’ He just keeps it real with you. He just keeps it real. He’s a great coach and he’s very smart.
“About two years ago I found out he was supposed to be a rocket scientist and he turned down jobs and all this stuff. His dedication for the game transfers to his players. He’s dedicated to his players. He’s dedicated his team. That’s a wonderful guy. I promise you.”