Glover Quin Says Patricia's 'Patriots Attitude' Sent Lions Downhill

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Photo credit © Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press, Detroit Free Press via Imagn Content Services, LLC

It's only getting uglier for Matt Patricia. Amid doubts about his future, former Lions players continue to question his leadership. 

2018 co-captain Glover Quin, who last week suggested Patricia could be losing the faith of the team, said on Thursday that Patricia came to Detroit with a know-it-all "Patriots attitude" that snuffed out the momentum the Lions had built under Jim Caldwell. 
"I think one of the biggest things was humility. Caldwell came in and basically changed the culture humbly," Quin told Barstool Sports' Surf & Turf Podcast. "I feel like Patricia came in, and he came from New England, and instead humbly gaining the respect of the players, I think he came in and kind of had a negative attitude about Detroit, like probably what most of the world thinks of Detroit.

"But I felt like from 2013 to 2017, the culture in Detroit had changed. Caldwell, the culture was different. We went to two playoffs, we were right at 9-7. We were right there playing against Green Bay at the end for division titles, so it wasn’t like we were a dumpster fire of a team. We had a good quarterback, good offensive pieces, good defense. And I kind of feel like Patricia came in and was like, 'Everything here is trash and I just gotta do a total rehaul of everything,' when we didn’t really need a rehaul. If anything, it was just, how do you get over that hump?

Lions general manager Bob Quinn fired Caldwell in 2017, infamously stating that Lions were better than 9-7. Patricia was supposed to take them to the next level. The Lions are 9-19-1 since. 

"When Patricia came in, it just kind of felt like he had this Patriots attitude, like, 'I know what I’m talking about, I’ve been doing this, I’ve been doing that. Just believe me, just trust me. And it’s just like, bro, we didn’t feel like our system was broken in the first place. We were right there. So to come in and try to have a complete, hard overhaul like that, it didn’t go over well," Quin said. 

Former Lions tight end Hakeem Valles went a step further on Thursday and tore into Patricia for "creating a culture based on fear." Valles said Patricia was ruthless in team meetings, something Quin echoed. 

"Matt Patricia is a very nice guy. He’ll talk to you, he’s very nice, makes it easy to talk to. Seems like he cares a lot about people, definitely has that quality," said Quin. "But then all of the sudden you get on the practice field, you get into the meeting rooms, it’s like the switch goes off and he’s a completely different guy."