After three years in Detroit, Matt Patricia is on his way back to Foxborough, Massachusetts. Patrica, who served on the Patriots’ coaching staff from 2004-17, rejoins New England’s coaching staff, according to Jim McBride of The Boston Globe.
Patricia, 46, was fired by the Lions shortly after the Detroit loss to the Texans on Thanksgiving Day. He passed 13-29-1 during his three seasons as the Lions coach. The Lions replaced Patricia with Dan Campbell, who has spent the previous five seasons as coach of the New Orleans Saints. Campbell is 5-7 in 2015 as the Miami Dolphins’ interim coach.
Patricia, a former Coach III coach, was also a graduate assistant at Syracuse before joining the Patriots staff in 2004. He served as an offensive assistant that season as the Patriots won their third Super Bowl over a four-year period. In 2006, Patricia was promoted to linebackers coach, a position he held during the 2010 season. After spending the 2011 season in New England’s safety coaching, Patricia was named the team’s defense coordinator in 2012. Patricia remained in the position through the 2017 season.
During that period, the Patriots won two Super Bowls and three AFC championships. New England’s defense was in the top 10 in the NFL in the fewest points allowed each season during this period. They boasted the league’s best defense in 2016, the same year that the Patriots won their fifth Super Bowl under coach Bill Belichick.
The Patriots come from their first losing season since 2000, Belichick’s first season in New England. While the defense finished seventh in the NFL in points allowed, the Patriots’ offense finished 27th in the league in the standings, 30th in passing and 24th in red zone efficiency. The attack of New England had a successful attack; they were fourth in the gains of the chase, sixth in the indicative points and eighth in the average per meter per carry.
Quarterback is the most important question as the Patriots enter the season. Jarrett Stidham is the only Patriots full-back currently under contract, with Cam Newton, the 2020 starter, set to enter free agency in March.