How Matt Patricia Grew as Lions Coach During Virtual Offseason

Lions head coach Matt Patricia details how he grew during the virtual offseason.

No question, coaches across the National Football League entered into the league's first virtual offseason with a certain level of trepidation. 

Gone were the normal routines that coaches had become accustomed to. 

As a result of the global pandemic, the NFL was forced to operate virtually for the first time in league history.

Lions head coach Matt Patricia took the opportunity to grow as a head coach, and he recently shared what he learned with Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated.

For Patricia, the social unrest that besieged the country allowed him to get to know on a more intimate level what the vast majority of his players have experienced dealing with social injustice.

Also, Patricia feels that the virtual meetings have allowed him to become a more effective teacher. 

By focusing in on players' faces, he feels he has become more adept at reading how his team was absorbing information.

As Breer explains, 

"One, the coach believe bonds were strengthened through everyone’s personal lives being broadcast to each other -- players and coaches got to see their teammates and staffmates’ surroundings, their kids and wives, their dogs and cats. 'That stuff was amazing,' Patricia said. And the second part, he continued, was how he became more adept at reading players’ faces, which, he hopes, made for more effective teaching than you might get otherwise."

Any lessons learned by Patricia can only help him to more effectively relay the messages he needs passed on. 

In turn, Detroit has hopefully become a closer football team that is seeking to turn the corner. 

To read Breer's complete The MMQB column, click here.

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