What Matt Patricia Can Learn from Andy Reid
It's been three straight seasons now for the Lions without a playoff appearance.
And the morale has arguably never been lower among the fanbase than it is right now after two consecutive under-.500 campaigns with Matt Patricia roaming the sidelines -- including a 2019 campaign in which the franchise "bottomed out" at 3-12-1.
Patricia has gone a combined 9–22–1 in two years on the job, and has often been outwitted and outcoached by opposing NFL head men.
So, if there was ever a time for him to glean patterns and behaviors from the head coaches of the NFL's 31 other franchises, it would be now.
And who better to learn from presently than Andy Reid, who just led the Kansas City Chiefs to their first world championship in 50 years.
There is a ton of coaching habits that Patricia could take from Reid, but let's narrow it down to just one for today.
It's a trait of Reid's that helped the Chiefs capture a Super Bowl title this year: Being ready to move on from a veteran passer in order to make room for a younger one with more upside.
Case in point: Reid and the Chiefs traded up in the 2017 NFL Draft from the No. 27 overall pick to nab Patrick Mahomes with the Buffalo Bills' No. 10 overall selection.
This was despite the fact that Kansas City already was equipped with a proven starting quarterback in Alex Smith.
Smith had been KC's starter since 2013 and had just helped Reid & Co. make two straight playoff appearances -- including leading the Chiefs to an AFC West division crown in 2016.
However, Reid determined that Mahomes would be better able to get the Chiefs far in the playoffs and ultimately to the mountaintop as Super Bowl champions.
It led to Smith being traded after the 2017 season so that Mahomes -- a product of Texas Tech and then-Red Raiders head coach Kliff Kingsbury -- could take over under center in time for Week 1 of the 2018 campaign.
Mahomes used what he learned from during his rookie season in which he was Smith's "student," and took the league by storm in his first year as the Chiefs' starting QB.
He proceeded to throw for 50 touchdowns and 5,097 yards and ran away with the NFL MVP award.
He followed that up with a 2019 campaign that saw him and his Chiefs teammates hoist the Lombardi Trophy at season's end.
Fair to say, the gamble that Reid took when he moved on from Smith in favor of Mahomes -- an unproven, second-year pro who went just 13-16 in three seasons at Texas Tech -- paid off.
If anything should serve as an omen that the Lions should take former Alabama passer Tua Tagovailoa at No. 3 overall, this is it.
If Tagovailoa's medicals check out, he has all the makings of a franchise passer.
Sure, it's going to take a little bit of boldness on behalf of Patricia & Co. for Tua to be taken because of longtime Lions gunslinger Matthew Stafford's presence on the roster.
However, remember that being bold and trading for Mahomes helped Reid & Co. become world champions.
Maybe it could one day produce the same result for the hapless Lions that are still looking to secure their first Super Bowl berth in franchise history.
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