Orlovsky: "Lions Organization Has a Problem, and It Starts with Their Head Coach"
Many NFL players and analysts have taken to social media and the airwaves to react to the explosive feud between Lions head coach Matt Patricia and cornerback Darius Slay.
Slay has spoken up in the last 24 hours -- and in detail -- about the reasons for his issues with Patricia.
"I posted a picture (of a wide receiver on Instagram), and he told me, stop sucking this man’s private. So I’m like, 'Whoa.' I’m like, 'Hold up.' Where I’m from, that don’t fly," Slay told the Detroit Free Press.
In 2018, tight end Garrett Hudson participated in rookie mini-camp with the Lions.
On Thursday, the undrafted free agent called Patricia "the worst person I’ve encountered in my entire football career."
"I was excited when the Lions cut me," Hudson said. "It was that bad."
During an interview on "The Pat McAfee Show," ex-Lion Glover Quin expressed that he does not see an end to the Lions' losing ways due to Patricia's abrasive style.
"Right now, they’re struggling," Quin said. "They’re struggling, and it’s not a great situation. And it’s not a situation where like, I don’t know if they can fight out of it right now because I don’t know if the love and the like for Patricia’s style makes the players want to fight out of it."
ESPN NFL analyst and noted Lions supporter Dan Orlovsky -- an ex-Detroit quarterback -- struggled, but admitted Friday, "I think the Lions organization has a problem, and it starts with their head coach."
Orlovsky added, "When you haven't warranted that type of clout and you go into that meeting room ... players look around, and say, 'Why is he talking to one of our leaders?'"
Patricia responded to the controversy with an email provided to the Detroit Free Press via a Lions spokesperson:
"Over the last two seasons, Darius and I have had multiple conversations in private that I believed were constructive and satisfactory," the statement read. "My discussions with athletes are confidential and I won't comment on anything discussed with our players in a team meeting. I appreciate his hard work and wish he and his family all the success in Philadelphia.”
The coaching staff and organization may indeed have a problem.
However, the belief for some in the Lions' organization remains that the team will turn things around by acquiring enough supporters of Patricia. That number of supporters, though, may be dwindling in the wake of recent events.
