Detroit Lions: Why Matt Patricia’s tenure could get off to a slow start

There will be an air of excitement when Matt Patricia is officially announced as the Detroit Lions head coach but a new coach bounce is not a given.

It wasn’t all that long ago that some were wondering what was so wrong with the New England Patriots defense. The Ringer’s Danny Heifetz wrote these words for a piece on October 1:

"It’s October, but that smell in the air is not pumpkin spice—it’s the rotting decay of the Patriots defense, and maybe their Super Bowl hopes, too."

The Patriots had just lost to the Carolina Panthers to fall to 2-2 on the young season. Of particular concern in that slow start was the performance of the defense as the Patriots had given up 42, 20, 33 and 33 points respectively in their first four games.

Fast forward a few months and the Patriots are preparing for another Super Bowl and the defensive turnaround may be the biggest reason that’s the case. It took a comeback effort in the AFC Championship Game to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars but the New England defense did their part in holding the Jaguars to just six second half points, keeping the game within striking distance for Tom Brady and the offense.

Detroit Lions fans should be excited that Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia is lined up to become the team’s new head coach in the NFL’s latest worst-kept secret. In moving on from Jim Caldwell, general manager Bob Quinn made a statement that the level achieved over the last two seasons was not good enough.

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That’s all well and good, but what happens if it isn’t onward and upward from here? After firing Caldwell coming off back-to-back nine-win seasons, what happens if the Lions don’t exceed that, or worse?

It’s a question worth pondering because the change may not lead to immediate results, even if all the moves made now are the perfectly correct moves to make.

Patricia’s known for a tireless work ethic and an ability to adapt and adjust with his defense, both in terms of his personnel and in game planning for opponents. Those are great qualities but it stands to reason whether or not they will show up right from the start.

The best coaches will tailor their system to their personnel rather than trying to force personnel into a system. There may not be a better example of that in the NFL than the Patriots defense but they are led by a Patricia-Bill Belichick duo that have been in place for a number of years. Such a stable situation fosters a deep knowledge of each individual player’s strengths and weaknesses.

Sure, some names on the roster come and go but Patricia is facing a wholesale change in personnel as he makes the move from the Patriots to the Lions. And that’s not to mention the jump in responsibility from coordinating the Patriots defense to being a first-time head coach of the Detroit Lions.

Fortunately, there are some things working in Patricia’s favor, namely the Patriots connections already in place in the Lions front office. He’ll walk into the office for the first time in what should be a familiar environment despite being a new place because of the presence of Bob Quinn and Kyle O’Brien, both of whom he worked with in New England. They’ll speak the same language and should be on the same page quicker than is normal for a general manager and new head coach.

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How quickly Patricia can gain the depth of knowledge necessary to put his players in the best possible position to succeed will determine how quickly the Lions defense can start looking more like the Patriots defense. Considering this year’s Patriots took a month before starting to round into form, no one should expect instantaneous results as Patricia takes over the Lions.