Darius Slay once lashed out at former HC Matt Patricia in Detroit - “He didn't have no respect for me"

Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni spoke to cornerback Darius Slay before hiring Matt Patricia as a senior defensive assistant.

Sirianni wanted to ensure that the two men could work together, especially after tensions escalated during their time with the Detroit Lions. Sirianni said in a recent press conference:

“Like you do with anything, you go through, and you talk to guys, and you make sure that everybody is comfortable with it. I had conversations with Slay. Obviously, I had conversations with Coach Patricia. I know it’ll be a good working relationship for us when that happens.”

For now, winning heals all wounds. The Eagles' defense finished second in total yards allowed (301.5) and tied for sixth in points allowed (20.2) per game last season. They also led the league with 70 sacks in 2022, 15 more than the second-placed Kansas City Chiefs.

However, the Eagles’ defense will transition after former defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon became coach of the Arizona Cardinals. Former linebackers coach Nick Rallis joined Gannon to become the defensive coordinator. Former defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson also transferred to the same role with the Baltimore Ravens.

The Eagles’ defensive depth chart will change significantly after Javon Hargrave, T.J. Edwards, Marcus Epps, Kyzir White and C.J. Gardner-Johnson sign with other teams. These changes may affect how Patricia and Darius Slay’s working relationship unfolds.

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Darius Slay-Matt Patricia beef in Detroit

Slay was not the only one who had issues with Patricia during his three-year stint as Lions coach. No wonder the players celebrated when Patricia was fired 11 games into the 2020 season. They thought he would bring some wisdom that helped the New England Patriots win Super Bowls XXXIX, XLIX and LI.

Instead, the Lions had zero winning seasons with him at the helm. Detroit went 6-10, 3-12-1 and 4-7 during his brief but rocky tenure. However, of all Patricia’s controversies with the Lions, his feud with Darius Slay became the most prominent. Their fractured relationship forced the Lions to trade him to the Eagles during the 2020 offseason.

The cornerback’s issue with his former coach stemmed from two incidents. First, Patricia said that Darius Slay wasn’t an “elite” defensive back in their first one-on-one meeting. It was the off-season after the former Mississippi State standout led the league in interceptions (eight) to go with 54 solo tackles. Those numbers earned Slay First Team All-Pro and Pro Bowl nods.

Sometime during the 2018 season, Darius Slay posted a picture of himself and an unnamed wide receiver on social media. Patricia took offense to the action and used the photo to start the meeting. Worse yet, Patricia had the highlight reel of that receiver catching passes against Slay during the next team meeting.

The five-time Pro Bowler said in a 2020 interview with Detroit Free Press reporter Dave Birkett:

“He told me in front of the whole team, in the team meeting room, showed clips of me in practice getting a ball caught on me or so in practice. I posted a picture (of a wide receiver on social media), and he told me, 'Stop sucking this man’s private.'”

“So, I’m like, 'Whoa.' I’m like, 'Hold up.' Where I’m from, that don’t fly. Cause I wouldn’t say that to him. I wouldn’t say to him to stop, you know what, to Bill Belichick. I wouldn’t do that. That’s just not me as a man. That’s disrespectful to me, and so from there on, it was done with."

A physical confrontation between Patricia and Slay might have happened if safety Glover Quin did not pacify his teammate.

While they’ve become more civil over the next two seasons, the damage has already been done. Darius Slay said:

"Your first impression always your best impression. Like I said, I would never disrespect him in that way. And for him to be able to tell me I’m out here sucking another man’s crank because of a picture I post, I ain’t like that. And it took me a whole another level."

Meanwhile, Matt Patricia said in a statement sent to the Free Press by a Lions spokesperson:

"Over the last two seasons, Darius and I have had multiple conversations in private that I believed were constructive and satisfactory. My discussions with athletes are confidential, and I won't comment on anything discussed with our players in a team meeting. I appreciate his hard work and wish he and his family all the success in Philadelphia.”

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Better ties for Slay and Patricia moving forward?

In a 2020 article by ESPN.com’s Michael Rothstein, Darius Slay and Patricia did address the incident a year later. The coach apologized even though he did not remember saying such a thing. Slay also mentioned that their relationship could be mended 'in years to come'.

On that note, the Eagles hope Darius Slay and Matt Patricia can bury the hatchet. It remains to be seen if Slay treats Patricia respectfully and vice versa. However, their connection will be crucial to the team's success. After all, they have a legitimate chance of bringing another Super Bowl title to the City of Brotherly Love.