3 Traits the Next Lions Head Coach Must Have
With the recent firing of head coach Matt Patricia, the Detroit Lions will now be on the hunt for a new head man.
Obviously, Patricia didn’t work out for a myriad of reasons, and the next hire should have some certain traits in order to turn the faltering franchise around.
Oddly enough, a lot of the qualities that are highlighted here were once thought to be strengths of Patricia, as well, before he arrived in Detroit.
No matter the case, here are a few traits the Lions' next head coach needs to have.
Leadership
Leadership is a rather broad term. In short, you have to have a coach that players want to play for and will follow into battle. Patricia was not that, and he lost control of the locker room in Detroit as time went on because of it.
Without leadership, it is extremely difficult to create a winning culture.
Sometimes, even the brightest football mind will struggle as a head coach. Not because they don’t know the X’s and O’s, but because they aren’t respected by the players -- I think Lions fans now know this firsthand.
Hopefully, the Lions' best players won’t want out of town solely due to their next head coach.
Kirthmon F. Dozier, Imagn Content Services, LLC
Flexibility
The NFL game changes quickly, and different players have different strengths.
Some of the best coaches in the game can adjust on the fly. From one year to the next, they change coordinators, schemes, philosophies and the overall look of a team -- yet, still manage to be successful.
Unfortunately, this trait can be extremely difficult to identify from an outsider's perspective. Without having a proven track record of being able to do this, how can it truly be identified?
Intelligence
Lastly, the next head coach will need to have the smarts to outcoach opponents. Knowing the weaknesses of other teams, exploiting them and creating mismatches are all essential attributes.
Patricia, meanwhile, clearly struggled in each of the three areas.
This could also fall into the flexibility category. But, a coach shouldn’t feel the need to just try the same thing over and over again, and expect the same results against every team.
Without understanding the game completely, the next Detroit head man won't be able to create a unique gameplan on a weekly basis.
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