After another struggling season, Detroit Lions decided to start fresh next year. The organization announced over the weekend that they have fired head coach Matt Patricia and general manager, Bob Quinn.
The decision came after the Lions’ disappointing 41-25 loss against the Houston Texans on Thanksgiving that saw the team fall to a 4-7 record in 2020. This ensures that Detroit will finish the season with a losing record for the third consecutive year.
Lions also announced that offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell would take over the team on an interim basis, while the front-office committee will handle the general manager duties until the end of the campaign.
“It was a hard decision because they are both terrific people and worked very hard and tirelessly for this organization,” the team owner Sheila Ford Hamp explained the decision. “It just clearly wasn’t working. It wasn’t what we had hoped for when we hired them.”
The dismissal of Patricia and Quinn doesn’t come as a surprise, especially since both were on the hot seat entering the season. The organization gave a vote of confidence to the duo after the 3-12 finish in 2019 but underlined that they are expecting to “play meaningful games in December.” The consecutive blowout defeats against Carolina Panthers and Texans ensured that wouldn’t happen, prompting Hemp to make this decision.
Matt Patricia, who was a longtime defensive coordinator for New England Patriots, was hired as Detroit Lions’ head coach ahead of the 2018 NFL season. Lions previously fired Jim Caldwell despite back-to-back 9-7 seasons, saying at the time that the team doesn’t look ready to take a step further under him.
The decision didn’t do any well to Detroit, as Patricia ended up going 13-29-1 during his tenure.
Bob Quinn, on the other hand, took the GM post in 2016. He oversaw only one playoff appearance since then, with the team posting a 31-43-1 record while he was at the helm.
