Ex-Michigan LB Pierre Woods: Matt Patricia will make Detroit Lions 'champions'

On the day that Pierre Woods was fired from his job as a linebacker with the New England Patriots in 2010, he dropped by his position coach's office to say thank you.

Woods, who made the Patriots as an undrafted rookie out of Michigan in 2006, arrived in New England the same year that Matt Patricia took over as a full-time position coach in the NFL for the first time.

The two spent four seasons together, and countless hours watching film and talking football, and on that day, as Woods left for an uncertain future – he would play just six more games in his NFL career, two of them in a return stint with the Patriots – he and Patricia made a pact they still adhere to today.

"We talked and he was like, 'Man, you know I’m here for you, anything you ever need. I love you, brother. I know it’s a business, but this is not business. This is personal, you and I. I’ll always be your brother, your mentor,'" Woods said. "We mentored each other in a sense. He's young. I just turned 36, I think Matt’s (43). So we were close in age so we like came up together in a sense."

True to their words, Woods and Patricia have stayed in regular if infrequent contact as their lives have veered in different directions.

Woods, who's finishing up his MBA at Miami (Fla.), said he and Patricia, now the Patriots' defensive coordinator, have traded text messages several times in recent months, and he and Patricia's wife, Raina, exchanged messages over Instagram on Monday.

And as Patricia has emerged as the heavy favorite to be the next Detroit Lions head coach, something that's expected to happen once New England's season is done, Woods said he believes the Lions have landed a "great coach" who will lead them to big things.

“I know it’s a going to be a challenge for any young, first-year coach, but if they come to work and they do what they’re supposed to do, I’m telling you right now they’ll succeed, they’ll be champions," Woods said. "It’ll be hard for him to beat his mentor, but I guarantee you he’ll find a way because one thing that I know, Matt Patricia is one of the smartest men on God’s green earth and he’s going to find a way, within the rules of football, to beat you."

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Woods' praise of Patricia lines up with many of the things others have said about Bill Belichick's most trusted assistant.

He has a tireless work ethic: "My five years there, just the way it was, (he) was first to be there, last to leave, and that’s what he believed in," Woods said.

He's uber competitive: "No one likes losing, that’s Bill, that’s Matt. But I think Matt definitely hates losing more than anything, and it affects you because we all felt that same way."

He's a football savant: "Nobody’s perfect, so that’s like the hard thing to say, but if you’re close to being perfect, that’s what Matt Patricia has been."

And most importantly, he takes time to connect with players of every caliber and build relationships inside the locker room.

"Sometimes when coaches release you, some coaches, they don’t care. You can see it when you watch 'Hard Knocks,'" Woods said. "Even to this day, like when I go up there, I have a real good connection with (Patricia and his family)."

Woods said he joked with Patricia during their first few years together that it was time for Patricia to start having kids "because he lived at the building" too much.

Now when they talk, it's often about their families or if there's a chance to meet up should their travels overlap.

"Even though what you see on ESPN with Belichick and Matt and their faces and you be like, 'Man, they’re some assholes,' but they’re not," Woods said. "Deep down great guys, great people, great coaches."

Ultimately, that's why Woods said he believes Patricia is destined for success in Detroit.

He'll field a team of smart football players that will be fundamentally sound on the field and tight-knit off it, and Patricia will give the team an edge as a coach.

"All of us, Matty P, we love him and it’s well deserved and he’s going to do well," Woods said. "I pray that the players in Detroit play their asses off for him because I guarantee you he’s going to give them his best."

Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett. Download our Lions Xtra app for free on Apple and Android!