With the Super Bowl now over and done with, the Detroit Lions named Matt Patricia their new head coach.
The deal was agreed upon weeks ago, but could not become official until Patricia's duties with New England were complete.
Patricia had been on Bill Belichick's staff in Foxborough since 2004 and served as defensive coordinator for the past six seasons, helping the Patriots win two Super Bowls and reach another. After spending the 2001-03 seasons as a GA at Syracuse, Patricia joined New England's staff as a coaching assistant in 2004, and worked his way up to assistant offensive line coach, linebackers coach, safeties coach and then to coordinator in 2012.
He famously left his career as an aeronautical engineer to take the defensive line job at Amherst in 1999, a job that led him to Syracuse, then to New England and now to one of the 32 head jobs in the NFL.
"When we launched the search for our next head coach, I wanted to find a leader that could take us to the next level and I am confident we have found that in Matt Patricia. He has been preparing for this opportunity his entire career, and he’s ready for the responsibility and its challenges," GM Bob Quinn said in a statement.
"Matt is driven to succeed, has extreme passion for the game and excels in preparation. He embodies the same hard-working, blue-collar attributes that represent our organization and the great City of Detroit."
Said Patricia: "This position comes with great responsibility, and I will commit every ounce of my energy to this football team, starting today. My family is excited to become part of this wonderful city that displays so much passion for their teams."
Patricia takes over a Detroit team that went 9-7 in the past two seasons under head coach Jim Caldwell. The Lions made the playoffs in 2016 but were left out in '17.
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