Detriot Lions fans are quick to forget the head coaching era of Matt Patricia. Of course, we can’t blame them. In three seasons as head coach of the Lions, the former Patriots Super Bowl champion defensive coordinator went 13-29-1 and was fired midway through the 2020 season.
Patricias’ time in Detriot was full of mishaps and downfalls. The “Patriot Way” was failing him. Aside from the team constantly losing. The head coach was known to have a toxic relationship with players, and a fractured locker room led to the departure of key players, as the likes of Ezekiel Ansah, Quandre Diggs, and Golden Tate received the axe.
One player who may have been fed up the most was Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay, who was the Lions’ best defensive player at the time. Slay admitted at one point that he had lost respect for Patricia after the head coach told the All-Pro that he was “not an elite corner.”
Darius Slay, Matt Patricia Mending Relationship in Philadelphia
The result of all this chaos in the motor city? Patricia was eventually fired in 2020 and would rejoin the Patriots. Slay forced his way out of Detroit and was eventually traded to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Speaking of the Eagles, they hired Patricia back in April as a senior defensive assistant, a move that reunites him with his former Detroit cornerback.
Fortunately for Eagles fans, they won’t have to worry about the issues that occurred the first time, as the two had a man-to-man talk to patch things up.
“We talked about it during the offseason,” Slay said via NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com. “They called me, and I was like, ‘It’s cool with me because I want to do what’s best for the organization.’ I always tell guys, ‘We’re in a rented seat; nobody’s in this seat forever.’ So I said, ‘Y’all got to do what’s best for the organization,’ and they asked would I be cool with it, and I said yeah.
“Me and him talked man to man. We’ve got a great understanding. We both want to win; he’s here to help me get better; he wants to get better as a coach, so we’re in good hands right now.”
Slay said he and Patricia both want to win, and that’s what really counts.
“It took a lot for both of us to talk, so we did a great job,” he said. “We communicate every day; we talk every day; we’re just trying to build everything going forward because, at the end of the day, we want to win. That’s his main goal, and that’s my main goal, and we’re going to continue to keep building.
“It’s a great understanding. We both talked it out as grown men. He’s a man, I’m a man, so we just handled it. We respect each other enough to put everything aside, and let’s move forward and get better.”
There is no question that the decision and move were handled professionally by the two individuals and that they understand the goal is to win and help the Eagles get back into the Super Bowl.