Even though a Patriots coordinator backed out on a deal to be a head coach the day before, Lions General Manager Bob Quinn wasn’t worried about that happening to him.
Via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, Quinn said he never doubted that Patricia would follow through on the deal.
“No,” Quinn said when asked if he ever feared Patricia would get cold feet. “Zero.”
Of course, Quinn’s background with Patricia from the Patriots organization gave him a background that the Colts lacked with Josh McDaniels. And at a basic level, Patricia isn’t McDaniel.
But the bigger issue is the league’s policy which makes teams play peek-a-boo and charades when they want to hire a coach from a successful team, and Quinn said he hoped it would change. Now, teams can interview assistants on playoff teams only during the wild card week for teams with playoff byes, and after the first round of the playoffs for those in wild card games. From Dan Quinn to Kyle Shanahan to Patricia and McDaniels, it creates as much of a distraction by making them dance around an obvious topic during Super Bowl week as letting them accept the job effective the end of the season would.
“No question,” Quinn said. “I mean, (a rule change) was on the table last year and it got tabled in March. For no good reason. I mean, it’s not good for the candidates, it’s not good for each team. It’s not good for anybody, so I don’t know why (that’s how it is).”
Lions president Rod Wood said he’d like the league to allow teams to make such hires during the playoffs, with conditions.
“There was a consideration last year to make a change of that rule, which I think in light of our situation and maybe what happened in Indianapolis, it even makes it more appropriate to reconsider it,” Wood said. “I think it’s tough on the candidates, Matt and Josh. Pat Shurmur had to wait (for the Vikings season to end to take the Giants job), obviously, too. It’s tough on the teams that are waiting for those candidates. I understand the rationale about not disrupting the season of somebody in the playoffs, but I think there’s a way maybe to have both sides be happy.”
If the issue comes up again this year, the Colts would certainly vote on it.