After three years in Detroit, Matt Patricia is returning to Foxborough, Massachusetts. Patrica, who served on the Patriots’ coaching staff from 2004 to 17, is returning to the New England coaching staff, according to Jim McBride of The Boston Globe.
Patricia, 46, was fired by the Lions shortly after Detroit’s defeat to the Texans on Thanksgiving Day. He went 13-29-1 during his three seasons as a Lions coach. The Lions replaced Patricia with Dan Campbell, who spent the previous five seasons as coach of the New Orleans Saints. Campbell went 5-7 as interim coach for the Miami Dolphins in 2015.
A former Division III coach, Patricia also served as a graduate assistant at Syracuse before joining the Patriots team in 2004. He served as an attack assistant that season, when the Patriots won their third Super Bowl in a four-year period. years. In 2006, Patricia was promoted to coach of linebackers, a position she held throughout the 2010 season. After spending the 2011 season training New England security guards, Patricia was appointed defensive coordinator of the team in 2012. Patricia remained in that position for the 2017 season.
During that time, the Patriots won two Super Bowls and three AFC championships. The New England defense was in the top 10 in the NFL with the fewest points allowed each season during that period. They boasted the league’s best scoring defense in 2016, the same year the Patriots won their fifth Super Bowl under coach Bill Belichick.
The Patriots are coming out of their first losing season since 2000, Belichick’s first season in New England. While the defense finished seventh in the NFL on permitted points, the Patriots’ attack ended 27th in the league in scoring, 30th in passing and 24th in efficiency of the red zone. The New England attack had a quick and successful attack; they were fourth in run yards won, sixth in touchdowns scored and eighth in average yards per carry.
The quarterback is the main issue as the Patriots enter the off-season. Jarrett Stidham is the only Patriots defender currently on contract, with 2020 holder Cam Newton scheduled to join the free agency in March.