Just two days ago Martha Firestone Ford, Sheila Ford Hamp and Rod Wood sent an open letter to season ticket holders and fans of the Detroit Lions stating how underwhelming and disappointing the 2019 season has been. As I read through the letter there were a few things that stood out to me that I will break down. However, the first thing that stood out to me, despite this being a letter to let the fans know that head coach Matt Patricia and GM Bob Quinn will be brought back for their third year together, was the fact that this seems to be ownership putting these two on the hot seat for the 2020 season.
First of all, I do not agree with bringing these two back for a third year together (and a fifth year for Bob Quinn). On January 1, 2018 Bob Quinn spoke to the media after the team had decided to fire then head coach Jim Caldwell, Quinn state:
At the end of the day, [we] wanted to take this team to the next level. And to me, that’s winning championships, that’s winning playoff games and that’s winning the Super Bowl. … Ultimately, the record that we’ve had the last two years is on me. Last year, we went 9-7 and lost a playoff game, and this year we went 9-7 and didn’t get to the playoffs. So, that’s ultimately my record, and I take full ownership of that. Really, the standards that I have and the Ford family has for this team are greater than that, and my goal is to go out and find the best head coach to bring us that championship.
From this statement, we can read between the lines and know that a 9-7 record is not considered to be good enough for Bob Quinn or ownership. With that being said Patricia and Quinn have led the Lions to a 9-20-1 record over the last two seasons, so why keep them? The only reasoning I can find that Martha Ford and the front office would choose to retain Quintricia for a third season is the Kyle Shanahan effect.
In his first two seasons as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers Kyle Shanahan went 6-10 and 4-12, so there was regression is year two just as there was here in Detroit; both relating to Quarterback injuries. Shanahan has led a comeback surge this season with an 11-3 record to date and the team has clinched a playoff berth as well.
The only other coach of significance I could find who began their head coaching career with a team with two consecutive losing seasons is Pete Carroll when he took over in Seattle. Carroll went 7-9 in both the 2010 and 2011 seasons. However, similar to what Shanahan has done with the 49ers, Carroll went 11-5 earning a Wild Card playoff berth (ultimately losing in the Divisional Round) and then in year four led the Seahawks to a 13-3 record and ended with all the glory as Super Bowl Champions.
Is this sound thinking? No. Do I think this is truly the front office is thinking? No, but it is the only rational reason I can come up with as to why they would decide to retain these two.
GM Bob Quinn & Head Coach Matt Patricia
We also need to remember, Bob Quinn told us “We didn’t beat the real good teams. Our record was above average. We’re 9-7 the last two years, but our record against the better teams in the league has not been that good.” This team continues to be unable to beat the better teams in the league. With the idea that Patricia can follow in Shanahan’s footsteps and the remark of “our expectation is for the Lions to be a playoff contender in 2020” written to the fans, this is why I believe Martha has given Quintricia an ultimatum and put them on the hot seat for the 2020 season.
If I were Martha Firestone Ford at season’s end I would be sitting down with both Quinn and Patricia and letting them know the 2020 season is WIN NOW. They must go, minimally, 10-6 AND make the playoffs AND win the NFC North AND host a playoff game at Ford Field. If they fall short of this their career with the Detroit Lions organization will come to an end.
Side Notes…..
There were a few things in the Open letter to Lions fans that struck me as offsetting as a fan. I wanted to take a few moments to break a couple of them down and explain what I mean.
In the letter they told the fans that they are striving to build a team “with depth at every position” and then go on to tell us that “our team depth showed us as a strength” in relation to the injuries the team played through that they claim are “never an excuse” for losing. I don’t know what depth they are referring to…Stafford went down, Driskel and Blough are not solid backup depth at the quarterback position despite Stafford reportedly dealing with broken bones in his back during the 2018 season as well. On top of that, Kerryon Johnson went down for the second straight year and nothing was done to add a suitable backup in either season to help the run game. In 2019 alone the Lions have used Bo Scarbrough, Ty Johnson, J.D. McKissic, Tra Carson, C.J. Anderson and Wes Hills in place of the injured Kerryon Johnson.
For Detroit Lions team captain and safety Quandre Diggs
The front office also referenced wanting to have high-character players and coaches, which is an absolute joke when discussing the NFL in general. I believe the team is also being overly hypocritical when they make that statement. They traded safety Quandre Diggs to the Seattle Seahawks even though he was a team captain, who in five games with Seattle has tallied 10 solo tackles and 3 interceptions. In an interview, Diggs said he was dealt because Quinn and Patricia wanted to “control voices in the locker room.” Yet, this team hired Matt Patricia despite being indicted for an alleged sex assault in 1996 (albeit he was not prosecuted, his actions can still be questioned).
In their final paragraph to the fans ownership announced that season ticket holders will see no price increases and that several sections within Ford Field will see price decreases for the 2020 season, is this their way of apologizing for how ineptly this team has been run for 50+ years?
So DSA Nation, what do you think should happen with Quintricia? Should they still be here? Should they already be gone? Do they deserve a third year together?