Report: Lions Could Make Changes After Chicago Game

Jason La Canfora reports that Lions could make changes if the team doesn't perform against the Bears

When a football team loses seven of eight games, talks of changing the coaching staff naturally begin to intensify.

Following the Lions' 19-16 loss to the Redskins, doubt has crept in all over Metro Detroit and nationally. Many now believe that Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia are not the right people to lead the Lions franchise.

Every week, Lions head man Matt Patricia discusses the need to execute better and the importance of playing fundamentally sound football. 

The play on the football field is not getting better. Key mistakes, untimely penalties and an inability to hold a lead has hindered the teams ability to win consistently.

On Sunday, it was reported that Patricia appeared to be calling more of the defensive plays by those observing his actions on the sideline. 

When asked if he called plays Sunday, Patricia declined to elaborate. 

"Again, like I’ve said before, I have a lot of different roles on game day and certainly from that standpoint, I’m very active in the communication from all phases of the game, all three phases. So there’s going to be plays out there that I can call, there’s going to be plays out there Coach (Pasqualoni's) calling, there’s going to be plays out there that certainly are just kind of automatic calls for us," Patricia said.

If Patricia is indeed making more of the calls defensively, that could make defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni a candidate to be let go.

On the CBS postgame show that aired on Sunday, Jason La Canfora said, "Keep an eye on the Detroit Lions. There has been a of angst there. Ownership, not sure about the direction of that franchise. They play again on Thursday and then they would have nine days after that. If they don't show against Chicago, there could be some changes afoot there." 

Sources tells SI Lions Maven that it isn't likely Matt Patricia would be fired during the season unless their was clear evidence the team had given up. 

That does not appear to be the case, as the team does play hard and is dealing with a plethora of injuries to key contributors. 

But sources also express that if the game against Chicago on Thanksgiving gets out of hand or if their are telling signs of the team quitting, look for changes to Patricia's coaching staff to be announced during the Thanksgiving break. 

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