Coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn were fired, the Detroit Lions announced on Saturday.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network Insider reports that offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell will serve as the Lions’ interim coach, citing a trustworthy source.
Patricia was let go two days after the Lions finished with a 4-7 record following their lopsided Thanksgiving Day loss to the Houston Texans. Patricia was questioned about his job security shortly after the loss.
Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp thanked Bob and Matt for their years of hard work and dedication to the team during a Zoom call press conference on Saturday afternoon on behalf of her family. “They’re both very kind individuals, and we wish them luck in all of their future pursuits. It’s evident that things have not gone as expected this season. The rest of the year will be dedicated to assessing every aspect of our football program and choosing the best individuals to be our team’s captain and coach.
Patricia and Quinn were informed by Lions ownership that the team needed to be a postseason contender entering the 2020 season. After losing four of their previous five games, ownership understood after Week 12 that the writing was on the wall.
Patricia led the Lions for more than two seasons, amassing a 13-29-1 record in that time. Before joining the Lions in 2018, Patricia served as the defensive coordinator for the New England Patriots for six years. Jim Caldwell was fired by the Lions after four seasons as coach, and Patricia took over. Caldwell enjoyed three successful seasons and two postseason trips when he was in Detroit.
The Lions rank in the bottom 10 in terms of scoring, total, and pass defense since Patricia was hired. They are also tied for the fewest takeaways (43) among all NFL teams since 2018. Patricia oversaw the Lions, who had the 27th-best winning percentage in the NFL with a.314 percentage. Patricia has the lowest career win percentage of any coach whose teams averaged more than 21 points per game during the Super Bowl era, having coached at least 40 games.
In 2016, Quinn became general manager of the Lions. The Lions went 31-43-1 under Quinn’s direction and have now finished below.500 for three straight seasons after finishing 9-7 in each of his first two seasons.
Quinn has five first-round picks that are still with the Lions, but none of them have ever been named an All-Pro or made it to the Pro Bowl. Quinn only drafted one player to make the Pro Bowl, wide receiver Kenny Golladay, who was chosen by the Lions in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
