Former Lions coach and Patriots assistant Matt Patricia joins Eagles staff
For those who were worried Matt Patricia might not be in our NFL lives this season, you're in luck.
The former Detroit Lions coach and New England Patriots assistant is joining the Philadelphia Eagles staff. A report from Tim McMamus of ESPN said Patricia was listed as a senior defensive assistant on the team's site. Eagles coach Nick Sirianni confirmed that Patricia would likely be joining his staff.
It became official shortly after, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Patricia was hired by the Eagles.
"It's trending in that direction ... Obviously his resume speaks for itself. He gives you a great mind in there that's done it at the highest level; gives me another former head coach I can bounce ideas off."
- Eagles coach Nick Sirianni, on the expected hiring of Matt Patricia https://t.co/wjMxH9frEP— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) April 20, 2023
Eagles fans might not be so excited about that news.
Patricia's reputation has taken hit after hit in recent years. It probably started when his defense was shredded by Eagles quarterback Nick Foles in Super Bowl LII, his final game as Patriots defensive coordinator before becoming the Lions head coach. Patricia's time with the Lions was a debacle, filled with controversy, battles with players and media and a lot of losses. The Lions went 13-29-1 in Patricia's three seasons.
Then Patricia returned to the Patriots and nobody could understand why he was installed as the offensive coordinator since his expertise was on the defensive side. Predictably, the Patriots offense was terrible with Patricia calling plays. The tight-lipped Patriots never announced Patricia wasn't on the staff anymore, but reports said he was free to look into other opportunities.
Matt Patricia comes to the Eagles
Patricia joining the Eagles sets up an awkward reunion. Darius Slay is a star cornerback for the Eagles, but in Detroit he was run off by Patricia, one of the many bad moves that regime made. The Lions got just third- and fifth-round picks back for one of the best corners in football.
Slay took offense to Patricia saying he wasn't an elite cornerback.
"He basically just said, 'You are not in that category yet.' At that time, I only had one Pro Bowl but now I’m at five, so I want to know how he feels about that now," Slay said, via SI.com. "I don’t wish bad on him, but as a man, me and him just don’t get along. He’s a smart coach, he knows his X's and O's, but the disrespect is not what I’m with."
That will be an interesting conversation. Patricia has a long road back to being considered for head coaching jobs again. But Sirianni seems excited to add Patricia. It's likely that only a few others in Philadelphia share that enthusiasm.
