Matt Patricia offered his favorite Rob Gronkowski anecdote from Patriots practice
"But I was like, 'Get up, right now, before I get fired.'"
Sometimes, coaches trying to make life difficult for players during practice can go a little too far.
This was essentially the point of a humorous anecdote shared by former Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia during a media availability on Tuesday at the NFL’s annual meetings. Patricia was asked by NBC Sports Boston’s “The Camera Guys” for a “good practice story” about retired tight end Rob Gronkowski.
“I mean I probably have a couple of them,” Patricia responded. Eventually, he focused on one in particular.
Lions head coach Matt Patricia has great story from his Patriots coaching days. Unique way to stop @RobGronkowski 😮😂
🔗 to @PhilAPerry story: https://t.co/O8YhqlV3YF pic.twitter.com/Tkh0tfnhGG
— The Camera Guys (@NBCSCameraGuys) March 27, 2019
“So we do a goal line seven-on-seven period everyday at Friday practice,” Patricia began. “I would usually stand over the cans – we put the trash cans out there as the O-line. And they’d be running crossing routes. A lot of times when you’re doing seven-on-seven passing plays, the advantage goes to the offense. So being a defensive coach, I was trying to make it as difficult as possible.”
“Rob is running a crossing route behind me, and I knew he was,” Patricia continued. “So I took the garbage can and I just slung it backwards, and I caught him right in between the legs. He goes down hard. He’s laying on the ground, he’s not getting up.”
Patricia noted how he instantly began to stress about having potentially injured a crucial Patriots player.
“This is Friday before a game,” Patricia recalled. “I’m like, ‘This is it, I’m done. Gronk’s not getting up, this is about it.'”
Though Gronkowski was alright, Patricia still joked about yelling at the tight end to get back on his feet before the then-defensive coordinator was himself yelled at for almost injuring a vital part of the New England offense.
“But I was like, ‘Get up, right now, before I get fired,'” Patricia said.
Patricia, now the head coach of the Lions, almost traded for Gronkowski in the 2018 NFL offseason. According to Gronkowski, a deal with Detroit was in place, but was nixed by the tight end himself.
