The Matt Patricia era was one of the darkest times in the history of the Detroit Lions. In less than three seasons at the helm, Patricia compiled a record of 13-29-1. But despite his time in Detroit being quite ugly, he is still following his former employer and is very happy for their current success.
Patricia appeared Thursday on Good Morning Football and talked about the run the Lions are on. He gleamed with excitement as he spoke highly of them.
“I love Detroit. I’m so happy for the fans,” Patricia said, via MLive. “That fan base… when you take a job and you go to a city, really all you want to do as a coach is just go win. You want to go win for those people that are dying to have that and experience that. And I’m for Dan and his staff, and the players that are there, (and) ownership.”
Patricia added: “(Detroit) is on fire right now. It’s great. It’s a lot of fun. I think it’s unbelievable what they’re doing. I love how they’re playing the game.”
The Lions enter Week 14 with an 11-1 record and the inside track to the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. Head coach Dan Campbell has the Lions on their best winning streak in 90 years, having won ten straight and going for a franchise-record 11-game win streak against the Packers.
Campbell also received high praise from his predecessor. “Give credit to Dan Campbell and what he was able to do to just get the entire building to follow what he wanted them to do, believe in what they were preaching, go out (and) work hard,” Patricia said. “We all know how it is in the NFL as you’re going through — you get a little bit of success and you get a little bit of that belief. Look, everybody’s good in the NFL. These are great football players.”