ALLEN PARK, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – The Detroit Lions on Saturday announced via Twitter that “(General Manager) Bob Quinn and (Head Coach) Matt Patricia have been relieved of their duties.”
Thursday’s 41-25 loss to the visiting Houston Texans dropped the Lions to 4-7 on the campaign, and Patricia leaves with an overall record of 13-29-1 in less than three total seasons at the helm.
Quinn, who came to Detroit from the New England organization, hired Patricia, a one-time Patriots assistant coach, after sacking coach Jim Caldwell in 2017, following back-to-back 9-7 results in Quinn’s first two years at the operational helm.
Both Quinn and Patricia were under contract with Detroit through the 2022 campaign.
In a video briefing shortly after the announcement was made, Principal Owner/Chairman Sheila Ford Hamp said, “Ten days ago, we looked like we had a good chance to be playoff bound, and both of those games (a 20-0 loss at Carolina on Nov. 22 and the Houston defeat) were extremely disappointing. It just seemed like the path going forward wasn’t what we wanted it to be, so we thought this was a good time to make the change.”
As for what the team is looking for in replacing Quinn and Patricia, Ford Hamp said, “We’ll probably have to do with the candidates we’re looking at and how that would play out. We are going to do an extremely thorough and comprehensive search for both positions. We have some ideas on what we’re looking for, but it’s not clearly defined (at this point).”
Offensive Coordinator Darrell Bevell will assume the interim head coaching duties through the end of the regular season, beginning with the Lions facing the Bears in Chicago on December 6th.
