NFC North: Lions sticking with Matt Patricia in 2020

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Lions coach Matt Patricia hasn't gotten off to a great start in his first two seasons on the job in Detroit. He'll enter Week 16 with an overall record of 9-20-1, which by most standards usually means a coaching change is coming.

Not in Detroit.

Lions owner Martha Ford confirmed Tuesday that Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn will be back with the team in 2020.

The Bears swept the Lions in their season series this year. They won Week 10's matchup, 20-13, and upended Detroit in front of a national audience on Thanksgiving Day, 24-20.

"I think we just look at, ‘OK, what are we building? What have we started and where is our foundation right now?’ Having a foundation of a team that is tough, a foundation of a team that is competitive, from a standpoint that they’re going to come to work every day and try to get better and then show up on Sunday and really try to do everything they can to compete, I think that’s where you need to start. And I would say that’s where we’re at right now," Patricia said Monday.

Patricia will be on the hot seat in 2020 despite the confidence he has in his roster. If the Lions get off to another rough start next year, Patricia is a strong candidate to be one of the first coaches terminated.

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