Matt Patricia is a different coach now than he was two years ago
The personal transformation in the public persona that head coach Matt Patricia presents has been striking for those of us who have been around the coach for even a limited amount of time.
Gone is the abrasive, haughty Patricia, the master of the filibuster press conference. Sure, he still lets everyone know he’s running the show, but Patricia is much more relaxed, interesting and informative now that he’s had a couple of years under his belt.
It was a tangible difference during the Senior Bowl week in Mobile and again in Indianapolis for the NFL Scouting Combine this winter. In the Zoom calls, the same Patricia has shown up. He’s cracked jokes, he’s talked about his kids and family, he’s shown legit interest in providing good answers to the questions — particularly the on-field related inquisitions from a press corps that has also learned to ask better questions.
This is the Matt Patricia that the Boston-area media colleagues told us we would really like when the Lions hired him away from the Patriots in 2018. It’s the guy fans have gotten to appreciate when he takes in a Tigers game with his family or goes into the kitchen of a restaurant while on vacation in the Holland area because the cooks are all big Lions fans and Patricia wanted to thank them.
Watching him teach young players during Senior Bowl week, seeing how quickly he learned what communication technique to use with players with different personalities, that was not something I expected to see from Patricia. His Lions players have let us know they’ve noticed it too, both on and off the record.
We won’t know if it produces the desired results until the pigskin starts flying, but it’s clear Patricia has come to the realization that not being himself did not work for him or the Lions.