New Lions DC gives subtle criticism of Matt Patricia

It would be hard to categorize Matt Patricia’s two-plus seasons with the Detroit Lions as anything other than a failure, and he probably doesn’t need anyone to remind him of that. New defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn has decided to, anyway.

Glenn told reporters this week that he believes the current players on Detroit’s roster have a ton of potential. The issue, he says, is that they were “confused” for much of last season.

“When you look at the players, I think (head coach Dan Campbell) said it, that the players looked confused, I think with no confidence,” Glenn said, via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. “What we have to do is we have to do is change that narrative of their thinking so they can go out and play with confidence and play fast.”

Glenn added that the top priority of the new coaching staff is to give players the confidence they need to “let it loose.”

While you wouldn’t expect a new coach to come in and publicly criticize players, Glenn made it clear he believes coaching was the biggest issue in Detroit last season. That obviously reflects poorly on Patricia, though at least one veteran player already hinted that Patricia was the main problem.

Blaming Patricia and staff for things will only take Campbell and his staff so far. Eventually, it will be on them to right the ship. That’s what they were hired for.