Last season made long-suffering Detroit Lions‘ fans long for the days of Jim Caldwell. Under their former head coach, the Lions never had a record worse than 7-9. In fact, three out of the four years Caldwell was the head coach of Detroit, the Lions posted winning records and earned themselves two postseason berths.
The Lions promptly fired Caldwell following the 2017 regular season, where the team finished with a 9-7 record. In his place, Detroit hired the literal rocket scientist and longtime defensive coordinator for the New England Patriots, Matt Patricia. But Patricia’s first season in Detroit was underwhelming, posting a disappointing 6-10 record with much of the same roster Caldwell found success with.