Lions notes: Matt Patricia ranked 3rd-worst among returning NFL coaches

2018 was a tough year for both the Detroit Lions and Matt Patricia. For the former, it was a disappointing 6-10 year after back-to-back 9-7 seasons. For the latter, it was a rocky start to his head coaching career. Throughout the season, Patricia was questioned for his on-the-field decisions, his ability to lead a locker room and his odd spars with the media. By the season’s end, only 24 percent of Lions fans approved of the job he was doing. Compare that to the 90 percent approval rating he had when he was hired, and well, let’s just say thing could’ve gone better for Patricia.

So it’s probably no surprise that national outlets don’t think much of Patricia right now either. Patrick Daugherty of RotoWorld ranked every NFL coach for the 2019 season, and Patricia came in at 22nd.

Before you say, “Oh, 22nd. That’s not that bad,” consider that Daugherty didn’t rank any of the new hires for the 2019 season. So that 22nd ranking isn’t out of 32, it’s out of 24 (there are eight new head coaches this year. Math!)

“It won’t matter how good of a job Patricia does on defense if he can’t get with the times on offense,” Daugherty wrote. “The early signs for 2019 are not promising, as Patricia has jettisoned OC Jim Bob Cooter in favor of the more run-minded Darrell Bevell.”

The only two returning coaches ranked lower are Jon Gruden and Pat Shurmur. So I suppose an alternate headline could have been “Matt Patricia ranked higher than Super Bowl-winning coach.”

• The Athletic did their own beat writer mock (subscription required) where beat writers from all 32 teams make their picks for the team they cover. The mock looks a little untraditional (Brian Burns falls to 24, Rashan Gary to 18), but it’s an interesting endeavor. Oh yeah, the Lions got Ed Oliver.

• Tickets to the popular Taste of the Lions event go on sale next week. General admission prices stayed the same this year ($175), but VIP tickets rose $50 (to $400). More details below:

• One of the more underrated cornerbacks in this draft, Central Michigan’s Sean Bunting, said playing for the Lions in his hometown of Detroit would be a blessing.

• Damon Harrison Sr. is continuing to try and recruit players to Detroit. In this instance, he’s trying to recruit back to Detroit:

• Speaking of Snacks’ freakin’ amazing Twitter account, here he is destroying Duke’s assistant offensive line coach:

• Today in “Jokes that Write Themselves.” The Chicago Bears have signed a kicker named Chris Blewitt.