2018 NFL Coaching Carousel: Patriots Exodus is At Hand
By Erik Lambert
Over the past week the 2018 NFL coaching carousel has slowed to a crawl. Things have been quiet ever since Oakland and Chicago made their hires.
Four teams still remains without head coaches and it’s still uncertain where things will go. However, recent news has finally hinted that two vacancies are set to be filled and both options happen to come from the same team. The New England Patriots have enjoyed a long, productive run with their current coaching staff led by the triumvirate of Bill Belichick, Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia. Together the trio have won two Super Bowls and played in at least the AFC championship ever year since 2012.
That is an insane amount of success that threatens to get even greater with New England hosting yet another AFC title game next week. It seems at last the rest of the NFL can’t ignore it any longer and are fixing to break this alliance up. Not one but both Patriots coordinators could be gone within the next month as information hints each has a job waiting for them whenever the season does end.
Matt Patricia set to take over the Detroit Lions
Patriots’ defensive coordinator Matt Patricia is likely to become the Detroit Lions’ next head coach, league sources told ESPN. More on Sunday NFL Countdown.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 14, 2018
The moment Jim Caldwell was fired it was rumored that the Lions would make Matt Patricia their priority. There was plenty of sense behind the decision. GM Bob Quinn has deep Patriots ties and is familiar with Patricia’s work. Detroit is in need of a defensive specialist as well since their defense hasn’t been able to maintain a similar standard to their offense under Matthew Stafford. Since 2012 Patricia has never fielded a defense that ranked outside the top 10 in points allowed. If the Lions can get the same from him then this is a potentially huge hire.
Josh McDaniels looks like the favorite for Indianapolis Colts
#Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has indicated to potential assistants to wait for him. The belief is he takes the #Colts job, as he's the clear favorite, sources say. Indy's other finalist is Mike Vrabel.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 14, 2018
The Colts swung and missed on their initial targeted hire in Matt Nagy who went to Chicago. Since then the team seems to have struggled finding candidates interested in the job. Much of this is due to the sorry state of their roster and the uncertain health status of Andrew Luck. Thankfully it seems one man isn’t afraid of the challenge. Josh McDaniels has awaited his opportunity to get another head coaching job and it appears Indianapolis is wide open for him. The potential of pairing his play calling prowess with Luck’s talent (assuming good health) could be a game changer in the AFC.
One thing is for sure, the Patriots aren’t going to be the same after this year. Belichick has proven able to find quality assistants in the past but it’s not as easy as it may seem. This may very well be the last ride for what has been an incredible dynasty.