Despite the fact that almost none of his assistants go on to be great NFL coaches, there's still something about Bill Belichick disciples that intrigues organizations enough to continue hire them, hoping some of the magic Belichick fairy dust will rub off. The latest from the Belichick tree to earn a job was former New England defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, who is off to a mediocre 3-4 start as head coach of the Detroit Lions. It's still way too early to judge how good of a head coach he is, but he seems to be the one that most closely resembled Belichick with his No. 2 pencil, somewhat disheveled appearance and mastermind-like mannerisms.
It also seems like Patricia has taken similar route with the media as his former boss, the most recent example of this coming during the head coach's Wednesday press conference following the Golden Tate trade. Tate, who has been one of quarterback Matt Stafford's top targets in Detroit since 2014, was shipped to the Philadelphia Eagles for a third-round pick ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline. It was a surprising move considering the Lions are still just one game out of first place in the NFC North, and the fact Tate was on pace for his third straight 90-plus catch, 1,000-plus yard season.
Naturally, Patricia's press conference was going to revolve heavily around the Tate news, and one reporter asked an innocent "how does this make your team better?" question. In an odder move than the Tate trade, Patricia scolded the reporter's ... posture? Oh yes, he went full dad mode on him, asking him to "sit up" and to "have a little respect for the process." Here's the transcript courtesy from the Detroit Free Press:
Reporter: "Why do you think this move makes your franchise better?"
Patricia: "Ah, well, you know. Do me a favor just kinda sit up, just like, have a little respect for the process. Every day you come and ask me questions and you're just kinda like you know, 'gimme this.' "
Reporter: "I'm sitting ..."
Patricia: "I'm asking just to be a little respectful in this whole process."
Reporter: "Okay, that's fine."
Patricia: "So ask me a question professionally and I'll answer it for you."
Reporter: "Okay. Why do you feel like this move makes your franchise better?"
Patricia then answered the question.
Some great unintentional comedy right there. What I need to know is, what kind of posture are we talking about here? Was it "college kid hungover slouching in an 8 a.m. class" posture? If so, I'm with Patricia here. Sit the hell up man, this ain't your living room couch. However, if were dealing with just a slight slouch, this seems aggressive. Sounds like the two go at it quite often, so I'm sure Patricia had been waiting for the right moment to scold him.
For the full, must-see video with all its Belichickian awkwardness, check out the full article here.
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