Matt Patricia returns to Patriots coaching staff after being sacked by Lions, report says

After three years in Detroit, Matt Patricia returned to Foxborough, Massachusetts. Patrica, who was on the Patriots coaching staff from 2004 to 2017, is joining the New England coaching staff, according to Jim McBride of the Boston Globe.

Patricia, 46, was sacked by the Lions shortly after Detroit’s loss to the Texans on Thanksgiving Day. He went 13-29-1 in his three seasons as the Lions coach. The Lions replaced Patricia with Dan Campbell, who had spent the previous five seasons coaching the New Orleans Saints tight ends. Campbell was 5-7 as interim coach for the Miami Dolphins in 2015.

A former Division III coach, Patricia was also a graduate assistant in Syracuse before joining the Patriots staff in 2004. He served as an offensive assistant this season, as the Patriots won their third Super Bowl in a four-year span. In 2006, Patricia was promoted to linebacker coach, a position he held during the 2010 season. After spending the 2011 season coaching New England security, Patricia was appointed the team’s defensive coordinator in 2012. Patricia remained in this position throughout the 2017 season.

During that time, the Patriots won two Super Bowls and three AFC championships. The New England defense was in the top 10 in the NFL with the fewest points awarded each season during that span. They boasted the best defense in the league in 2016, the same year the Patriots won their fifth Super Bowl under coach Bill Belichick.

The Patriots are coming out of their first losing season since 2000, Belichick’s first season in New England. While the defense finished seventh in the NFL in points allowed, the Patriots offense finished 27th in the league in scoring, 30th in assists and 24th in efficiency in the red zone. The New England offensive experienced a successful hasty attack; they were fourth in rushing yards gained, sixth in rushing touchdowns and eighth in yards per carry average.

The quarterback is the main issue as the Patriots head into the offseason. Jarrett Stidham is the only Patriots quarterback currently under contract, with 2020 starter Cam Newton scheduled to enter free agency in March.