| Detroit Free Press
Detroit Lions are 1-3 at the bye. Is there any reason for optimism?
Detroit Lions don’t seem intent on making a midseason coaching change, so what improvements, if any, can save the 2020 season? (Filmed Oct. 5, 2020)
The Detroit Lions may be on bye this week, but that did not stop Fox analyst Terry Bradshaw from calling for Matt Patricia’s job as Lions head coach for the second time in three weeks.
“Patricia, in Detroit, can’t coach,” Bradshaw said during Fox’s Sunday pregame show. “Smartest guy in the world. Rocket scientist. Engineer. Can’t coach a lick. Can’t hold a lead when they’re leading by 10 points. He’s got to be gone.”
Bradshaw said in September, before the Lions’ only win of the season against the Arizona Cardinals, that both Patricia and Lions general manager Bob Quinn “should be fired” because of the team’s persistent struggles during their tenure.
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The Lions enter the bye week at 1-3 in last place in the NFC North, and have lost 12 of their past 13 games dating back to last season. Patricia is 10-25-1 as head coach, with 12 of those losses coming in games in which the Lions held a double-digit lead.
This year, the Lions have blown leads of 17, 11 and 14 points in losses to the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints.
After a segment on the Atlanta Falcons and embattled coach Dan Quinn during Sunday’s show, Bradshaw called for the jobs of both Patricia and New York Jets coach Adam Gase, who he called a “terrible head coach.”
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“Coaches have to today, I believe, be more of a player-friendly coach,” Bradshaw said. “They have to be a guy that commands respect, but the players love to play for them.”
Several former Lions spoke out last week against Patricia’s characterization that he inherited a rebuild when he took over as Lions coach in 2018. The Lions went 9-7 in the two seasons before Patricia came to Detroit, and Patricia ran off several of the team’s best players, including Darius Slay and Quandre Diggs.
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“You look at Gase and you look at Matt Patricia, I think they’ve just been Xs and Os guys,” fellow Fox analyst Michael Strahan said. “You have to have relationships if you want to win in this league with your players that will run through a wall for you.”
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