Another disappointing loss for the Detroit Lions (4-7) and this one finally led to the firings of coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn as well as the promotion of offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell to interim coach.
The analysts don’t appear to believe the change will have much impact on this season and the Lions slide in the national rankings continues.
Let’s take a closer look at what the national analysts thought of the Lions’ victory and what the experts are saying this week.
Touchdown Wire: 29 (Previous: 28)
“Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell will take over as the interim head coach, but the team now faces decisions at both general manager and for a permanent head coach. Names will be floated around in the near future, but for now here are some of our suggestions for both HC and GM.” — Mark Schofield
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USA Today: 28 (Previous 26)
“New principal owner Sheila Ford Hamp asserted herself by cleaning out the front office. Now, can she find a brain trust to take Detroit to its first Super Bowl?” — Nate Davis
NFL: 29 (Previous: 29)
“The Lions are blowing it up … again. On Saturday, the team announced it had fired head coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn, seismic moves made 48 hours after the Lions were blown out by the Texans on Thanksgiving. Though Quinn had his share of personnel victories in his five years on the job, Patricia was more or less a total miss. The former Patriots defensive coordinator struggled to connect with players and oversaw a Lions team that regressed from the back-to-back 9-7 finishes that preceded the dismissal of Jim Caldwell. Lions offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell takes over as interim coach, while owner Sheila Ford Hamp and president Rod Wood will spearhead the search for a new head coach and GM. If the incoming regime plans to start over, it could mean the end of Matthew Stafford in Detroit.” — Dan Hanzus
ESPN: 27 (Previous: 24)
“Most important game remaining: Week 13 at Chicago. This is the most important game only because it’s Darrell Bevell’s debut as a head coach and it might begin to answer the question of whether it was the talent on the roster or the coaching of Matt Patricia that caused many of Detroit’s problems this season. So it’s intriguing from that aspect to see how the players respond to a regime change. Otherwise, the most important game for Detroit is the last one because it can really push forward on its plan for the future once it concludes.” — Michael Rothstein
CBS Sports: 27 (Previous 24)
“They fired general manager Bob Quinn and coach Matt Patricia after an embarrassing Thanksgiving Day loss. It was only a matter of time.” — Pete Prisco
Sports Illustrated: 25 (Previous: 25)
“The Matt Patricia era is over, and it feels like a small percentage of my lasting memories from his run took place on the field. Detroit now has some work to do to rebound from an underwhelming stretch of football.” — MMQB Staff
Sporting News: 25 (Previous: 21)
“The Lions’ latest loss was the last straw for Matt Patricia and Bob Quinn. Let’s their players finish strong to save some respectability after two bad losses to bad teams.” — Vinnie Iyer
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