Matt Patricia, a bushy-bearded mountain man whose wardrobe is inspired by Bill Belichick, apparently has strict standards for a person’s public appearance.
The first-year Lions head coach, sitting at 3-4 a day after trading away standout wide receiver Golden Tate, focused his energy on improving a reporter’s posture in a news-conference scolding.
“Why do you think this [Tate] move makes this franchise better?” came the question from the reporter, in video captured by the Detroit Free Press.
“Do me a favor. Just sit up, have a little respect for the process,” Patricia said. “Every day you come and ask me questions and you’re just, kind of, ‘Gimme this.’
“I’m asking just to be a little respectful in this whole process.”
Patricia asked the reporter, sitting off camera, to ask the question “professionally,” and the reporter restated the question, which Patricia answered by essentially saying the franchise is thinking long term.
The news conference continued without incident.
Patricia, a 44-year-old who also was in the mix for the Giants job last offseason, had been New England’s defensive coordinator under Belichick since 2012.