Lions officially name Matt Patricia as head coach

3:08 PM ET

For weeks, Matt Patricia has been expected to be named the head coach of the Detroit Lions once the New England Patriots' season ended. Now, after a 41-33 Patriots loss against Philadelphia in Super Bowl LII, it's happened.

The Lions officially announced Patricia as the 27th head coach in franchise history Monday, less than a day after he finished his final game as the Patriots' defensive coordinator.

The 43-year-old Patricia has spent his entire NFL coaching career in New England, starting as an offensive assistant and working his way up to defensive coordinator by 2012. He made three Super Bowls running the Patriots' defense.

Much like the man he'll now work for, Lions general manager Bob Quinn, Patricia started at the lower rungs of the New England organization to become one of Bill Belichick's most trusted advisors by the time he left.

"When we launched the search for our next head coach, I wanted to find a leader that could take us to the next level and I am confident we have found that in Matt Patricia," Quinn said in a statement Monday. "He has been preparing for this opportunity his entire career, and he's ready for the responsibility and its challenges.

"Matt is driven to succeed, has extreme passion for the game and excels in preparation. He embodies the same hard-working, blue-collar attributes that represent our organization and the great City of Detroit."

Since taking over the defensive coordinator job with the Patriots in 2012, New England had a 75-21 record. In that span, the Patriots allowed 107.1 rushing yards per game (No. 12) and 246.7 passing yards per game (No. 25). His teams were able to hold opponents out of the end zone, though, allowing 19.2 points per game -- second in the NFL to Seattle, which held teams to 16.99 points per game over the same time frame.

He also spent over a decade learning from Belichick as an offensive assistant, assistant offensive line coach, linebackers coach, safeties coach and then defensive coordinator. One of the things Belichick does best is prepare for situational football -- and that was something Quinn said was one of the main things he was looking for when he hired his next head coach.

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