There was a lot of speculation about how the relationship between Eagles CB Darius Slay and Defensive Assistant Matt Patricia was going to hold up in Philadelphia. It appeared to be a combustible science experiment, spilling out and blowing up beakers during their last rendezvous in Detroit.
So when the Eagles unexpectedly (and somewhat mysteriously) hired Patricia as a senior defensive assistant under new coordinator Sean Desai, well, people were skeptical of the move. Slay wasn’t going to be happy about it. He and Patricia have a history. Bad history.
But Slay is older and wiser, plus his main focus is on winning a Super Bowl. The 32-year-old revealed his thoughts on the Patricia hiring while speaking to reporters at the Calvin Johnson Jr. Foundation Celebrity Golf Classic outside Detroit. Everything is copasetic.
“It’s another day at the office,” Slay told the Detroit Free Press. “We both got the same goal, just going out there to compete and win a championship, so that’s the main focus.”
Eagles Nick Sirianni, Darius Slay Talked Matt Patricia Move Through
There has been enough ink spilled on the bad blood between Slay and Patricia to write a sequel to the Bible. Their well-documented feud from Detroit started in the meeting room and leaked out onto social media. Slay even called Patricia — his former head coach on the Lions — out in an emotional playoff message he penned to Eagles fans in The Players Tribune: “the fact that I’m finally accepted by my head coach.” Ouch.
Then, Nick Sirianni made the bold decision to hire Patricia. The move could have toppled a weaker locker room, but the Eagles own arguably the strongest culture in football. Slay was on board, especially after Sirianni talked it through with him.
“Like you do with anything, you go through and you talk to guys and make sure everybody is comfortable with it,” Sirianni told reporters on April 20. “I had conversations with Slay; obviously had conversations with Coach Patricia. I know that it will be a good working relationship for us when that happens.”
Feud Reached Climax in 2018: ‘All My Respect Went Out the Door’
The Slay-Patricia feud stemmed from two instances in 2018, according to ESPN’s Michael Rothstein. The first hiccup came when Patricia told Slay in a one-on-one meeting that he wasn’t an “elite” cornerback. It was an odd thing to say considering Slay had led the NFL in interceptions during the 2017 campaign. And earned All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors. Moving on.
The second incident was far worse as Patricia embarrassingly dressed Slay down in a team meeting. The then-Lions coach flashed a social media picture of his star cornerback up on the screen and used very descriptive terminology to let him know that hob-knobbing with opponents would not be tolerated.
“Yeah. Right there, after that, that’s when all my respect went out the door for him. As a man,” Slay told ESPN.
Patricia never confirmed or denied the report.
“My discussions with athletes are confidential and I won’t comment on anything discussed with our players in a team meeting,” Patricia said. “I appreciate his hard work and wish he and his family all the success in Philadelphia.”
Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire
