Patricia mum on Lions job, focuses on Jaguars

If Matt Patricia has a deal in place to become the next Detroit Lions coach, he’s not saying.

Patricia, the New England Patriots defensive coordinator, declined to address reports that he will be the next Lions coach during a teleconference Monday.

“I’m really just in the same place as I was last week,” Patricia said. “I went through the process that the NFL allows us to go through and during the bye week I was able to have the opportunity to talk to a couple teams, which I did, and then quickly turn my focus to a very good Tennessee team and now I’m onto a very dangerous Jacksonville team.”

Patricia, 43, has a longstanding relationship with Lions general manager Bob Quinn, and in Detroit, he’ll take over a playoff-caliber team with Matthew Stafford at quarterback and a defense he can tweak to his liking.

The Patriots finished 25th in the NFL in total defense this season, but fifth in scoring defense, and have ranked in the top 10 in scoring in each of Patricia’s six seasons as coordinator.

They allowed a 95-yard touchdown drive in the first quarter of Saturday’s 35-14 playoff win over the Titans, then kept Tennessee off the scoreboard until 1:55 remained in the game.

The Patriots had eight sacks and held the Titans to 65 yards rushing.

The Patriots host the Jacksonville Jaguars this week in the AFC Championship Game. The Jaguars were a surprise winner over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.