5 replacement candidates for Matt Patricia as Detroit Lions head coach

Remember a few years ago where if you touched Sean McVay’s hand, you were a head coaching candidate? That might be the case again in 2020 with Kevin O’Connell, given the way the offense has rebounded in Los Angeles.

Last season in Washington, O’Connell had little to work with under center thanks to poor execution from Jay Gruden. A year later, the 35-year-old is out west, making Jared Goff look competent once more. A year after struggling to find his NFC championship-winning rhythm, Goff has rebounded to throw for 2,823 yards and 16 touchdowns against eight interceptions. The Rams also rank top 10 in both rush and passing attack through their first 10 games.

O’Connell is another young rising star that has shown his ability to adapt with quarterbacks. Depending on Stafford, there could be a few mechanical issues that have set the 32-year-old back that O’Connell can fix. Detroit might be missing out on some of the big names, but a lesser-known yet talented coordinator might be the fix needed to turn this franchise around.