The Detroit Lions are 1-3 and head coach Matt Patricia is on the hot seat. The defense has only gotten worse since he’s taken over, and in Year 3 of his remodeling of the franchise, there doesn’t seem to be anything that is better about the team that he took over.
Of course, Patricia is only part of the equation. He isn’t responsible for every move this franchise makes. He shares that responsibility with general manager Bob Quinn, someone he shares a long history with.
Quinn’s reputation in Detroit has been all over the place. Take a look at the result of his approval polls in the five years since taking the job in January of 2016.
May 2020: 50 percent approval
April 2020: 38 percent approval
November 2019: 28 percent approval
October 2019: 95 percent approval
May 2019: 88 percent approval
April 2019: 90 percent approval
March 2019: 76 percent approval
December 2018: 45 percent approval
November 2018: 41 percent approval
October 2018: 70 percent approval
September 2018: 26 percent approval
May 2018: 89 percent approval
March 2018: 83 percent approval
February 2018: 92 percent approval
November 2017: 78 percent approval
October 2017: 82 percent approval
August 2017: 95 percent approval
June 2017: 93 percent approval
April 2017: 97 percent approval
February 2017: 93 percent approval
December 2016: 96 percent approval
August 2016: 70 percent approval
June 2016: 86 percent approval
April 2016: 74 percent approval
February 2016: 72 percent approval
Here’s all that data in graphical form, with notable events that correlate to the results.
(Click graph to make it bigger)
Early in Quinn’s career, it looked like he was hitting on draft picks like Taylor Decker, Graham Glasgow and Kenny Golladay and he made some free agency splashes with Marvin Jones Jr. and Tavon Wilson.
But as time has worn off, so has the shine on Quinn’s resume. There’s now a huge list of Day 1 and 2 draft picks that have not yet lived up to their draft billing: Jarrad Davis, Teez Tabor, Will Harris, Jahlani Tavai, Kerryon Johnson. His free agency listing may be even worse—filled with mediocre former Patriots like LeGarrette Blount, Stevan Ridley, Danny Amendola, Danny Shelton, and Jamie Collins Sr., and big swings and misses with T.J. Lang, Rick Wagner and Jesse James.
Of course, the biggest blemish on his entire career may turn out to be the hiring of Patricia himself. Together, they undertook a complete revamping of the franchise, and it has not worked.
There are some good marks on Quinn’s career and some will choose to focus on those in the hopes the Lions will finally click and turn this around. However, it’s getting harder and harder to see any light at the end of the tunnel.
What do you all think? Vote in our October Bob Quinn approval poll: