Matt Patricia Visited Alma Mater RPI Last Week

Matt Patricia returned to RPI last week, and was the keynote speaker for the RPI ROTC military ball

John Maakaron | Feb 18, 2020

Lions head coach Matt Patricia returned to his alma mater last week, and was the keynote speaker for the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ROTC military ball.

Patricia was a former player and assistant coach for the Engineers football team.

He played on the offensive line for RPI from 1992-95.

After graduation, he stayed, and worked as a graduate assistant under head coach Joe King in 1996.

While visiting his alma mater, he was given a tour of different portions of the campus that have drastically changed in the last 25 years.

"I hadn't been on campus -- down in the labs, down in the academic buildings -- in I can't even tell you when. It was cool to go back down in the labs, see what they're doing, see the projects they're working on.

We went into the virtual reality labs. We saw one of the wind tunnels. They're new to me, although they're probably 10 years old now. To see that and see the progress they're making with the technology and how they're using it, that was cool," Patricia said via the Times Union.

Staff Changes

Patricia was asked about the recent staff changes, and he commented on how challenging it is to hire coaches that view the game the same way he does.

"It's probably one of the most underrated things that you have to get done as a head coach. Everybody knows there's going to be changes with the way you do things, the organization, the roster, things like that," he said.

"You can't underestimate how difficult it is to hire a coaching staff that sees the game the way that you see it. Getting the right staff is critical. I've had great coaches with me in Detroit. Change is part of the game. You just hope you learn and move on and get better as you go through."

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Published Feb 18, 2020

JOHN MAAKARON

John Maakaron has covered Detroit Sports since 2013. Brings a vast array of experience covering the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Lions, Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans, Detroit Mercy Titans, and Oakland University Golden Grizzlies. John brings a wealth of sports broadcast experience. In 2013, John had the vision to establish the Detroit Sports Podcast Network. Has recorded over 3000 podcasts analyzing Detroit Sports. In 2019, Sports Illustrated Media Group, a historical sports media outlet, partnered with Detroit Sports Podcast to provide daily Lions content for their growing and expanding digital media outlet. Our Lions content can also be read in the newspaper at The Oakland Passionate about Detroit Sports and it is reflected in his coverage of the local teams!