The Detroit Lions announced they have fired Head Coach Matt Patricia and General Manager Bob Quinn.
Related: Lions fans, former players react to firing of Matt Patricia, Bob Quinn
The firing comes after the team was embarrassed by a 3-7 Houston Texans team on Thanksgiving, 41-25, their second straight loss. Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell will take over as interim coach.
Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp met with Quinn and Patricia Saturday to tell them the team was moving in a new direction.
Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp met with Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia Saturday to tell them the team was moving in a new direction. pic.twitter.com/kjsctVc7Sr
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) November 28, 2020
“We know this is been a challenging year for everyone, I will do everything I can to put a winning team on the field for our fans and the city of Detroit," Hamp said.
The Lions were also shut out by the Carolina Panthers on Sunday afternoon, the first time the Lions were shut out in 11 years. The Panthers were 3-7 at the time of the win.
According to Hamp, the last two games were a major factor in the decision.
"Both of those games were extremely disappointing."
Bob Quinn’s best success in Detroit came with Jim Caldwell as head coach.
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) November 28, 2020
Quinn tried to clean house to rebuild, in order to buy Matt Patricia and himself a lot of runway. One big problem: rebuilds don’t take that long in the NFL. The Fords finally realized it, and fired both.
Detroit is 4-7 this season and Patricia is 13-29-1 in his time as the Lions coach. Quinn is in his fifth season with the team and has a 31-43-1 record.
Patricia came to Detroit in February 2018 after spending more than a decade with the New England Patriots, last as the defensive coordinator.
The Lions rank in the bottom half of the league in total offense, and sixth-worst in the league in total defense. Last season, they finished second-worst in total defense, giving up 6,406 yards.
Patricia is the latest coach to be fired and was the team’s fourth coach in the past 14 years. He replaced Jim Caldwell who was fired after the 2017 season.
According to Hamp, the team may use a search firm to find its next coach and GM.
“Well be talking to a lot of people and using a lot of resources in our search.”
— Justin Rose (@JRoseWXYZ) November 28, 2020
“I promise you we are going to do an extremely thorough and comprehensive search for both positions," Hamp said. "We'll be talking to a lot of people and using a lot of resources in our search.”
Hamp said they had been looking at a potential firing of Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia for a while.
"It clearly wasn't working. It wasn't what we hoped for when we hired them," she said.
