The energy surrounding the Detroit Lions is at an all-time high as they head into the 2025 season. Entering their third straight year as serious Super Bowl hopefuls, Dan Campbell has transformed the team’s culture from perennial losers to true contenders, sparking optimism about what the future holds.
Before Campbell took over, however, the mood was very different. The Lions were constantly losing and trying to salvage what remained of Matthew Stafford’s time in Detroit. Much of the fan frustration back then was directed at former head coach Matt Patricia, a protégé of Bill Belichick whose unpopularity still lingers today.
Former Lions fullback Jason Cabinda revisited that rough era on the State Media podcast. He recalled an incident from Patricia’s first season in 2018, when the Lions held a joint practice with the New York Giants. Patricia took issue with All-Pro cornerback Darius Slay for interacting with Odell Beckham Jr. after practice.
“Odell was winning most of the matchups against Slay during practice… then afterward, Slay was talking with him, taking photos. Matty P didn’t appreciate it. He didn’t like them shaking hands and smiling after getting beat. So he made a video clip reel of Odell’s catches on Slay and showed it to the team, using a laser pointer to break it down. Then he goes, ‘Is this your buddy? Your guy?’ basically scolding Slay for being friendly with someone he’d just battled against.”
At the time, Slay was a Pro Bowl player and among the Lions’ top performers. Drafted in 2013, he spent seven seasons in Detroit and had two standout years under Patricia, with five picks and 30 pass breakups. But their relationship was strained, and the Beckham tape incident only worsened it.
“That was just pure embarrassment as a tactic,” Cabinda explained. “And Slay wasn’t having any of it. That was definitely one of the worst ways Patricia could have handled the situation.”
Slay was eventually traded in 2020 and spent the next five years with the Philadelphia Eagles. Patricia, fired that same year, returned to New England as a senior advisor before joining the Eagles’ staff under Nick Sirianni in 2023.
Though the two have since made amends, the Detroit fan base hasn’t forgotten. Patricia’s record in Detroit was 13-29-1, and his .314 win percentage ranks fourth-worst in team history among coaches with 30+ games.
In the end, things worked out—Patricia’s failure led to Campbell’s hiring in 2021. But for many fans, the emotional scars from those painful years remain fresh.
