Detroit Lions: Matt Patricia may not be slam dunk as next head coach
By Zac Snyder
Thoughts that Matt Patricia was all but guaranteed to be the next head coach of the Detroit Lions may be premature according to SI’s Peter King.
It may not be a foregone conclusion that New England Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia will become the Detroit Lions‘ next head coach. There has been plenty of speculation that would be the case but fans might need to pump the breaks on those expectations thanks to a new report from Sports Illustrated’s Peter King.
In a new “coaching carousel” report at SI.com today, King acknowledges that Patricia may be the Lions’ top choice, but the Lions may not be Patricia’s top choice.
"In Detroit, I hear Pats defensive coordinator Matt Patricia is the choice over Houston’s defensive boss, Mike Vrabel—but Patricia favors the Giants. If the Giants give the nod to Patricia, Detroit could be Vrabel’s job."
This certainly doesn’t mean the Lions have lost out or will lose out on their top choice. It does, however, indicate a potential stumbling block that wasn’t apparent as reports started to swirl suggesting things were heading in the direction of Patricia becoming the Lions next head coach.
It remains to be seen just how interesting the New York Giants might be, although they were among the teams in to interview Patricia during the Patriots bye week. If they end up interested enough to make an offer, that’s where things could get interesting for the Lions. Taking King’s report, could the Lions win a head-to-head offer battle with the Giants? Maybe, although there could be some issues at play for which the Lions could not overcome the Giants – such as proximity to family.
Best case for the Lions if they are zeroed in on Patricia is for the Giants to never make an offer. The Giants are among the teams interviewing Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks this week, with whom they have an existing connection through new general manager Dave Gettleman. Gettleman was fired as Panthers GM over the summer, just prior to Wilks’ only season as defensive coordinator, but their time in Carolina overlapped while Wilks was the defensive backs coach under defensive back Sean McDermott, who left for the Buffalo Bills head coaching job.
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Nothing official can occur with Patricia until the Patriots are eliminated from the playoffs. That being said, head coaching searches have a way of settling in even as top candidates remain active in the playoffs. It now seems that a decision from the Giants is the big domino to fall. With the Panthers eliminiated last week, Wilks is available for hire immediately. The longer he, or another available candidate, doesn’t fill that job, the more nervous the Lions front office should feel.