Lions Defensive Coordinator Paul Pasqualoni Steps Down for Personal Reasons

Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia announced Thursday the team's defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni will step down from his position to spend more time with his family. 

"Coach P is one of the best men I've ever been around, on both personal and professional levels," Patricia said in a statement. "I owe him so much and I'm grateful of the impact he had on our players, coaches and support staff."

Offensive line coach Jeff Davidson is also set to take an indefinite leave from coaching.

Pasqualoni spent the past two years as defensive coordinator of the Lions, helping the unit improve from 27th in yards allowed in 2017 to 10th in the league in 2018. However, the squad struggled again in 2019 and finished 31st in yards allowed and 26th in points allowed.

The struggles were part of an overall disappointing season for the Lions as they finished 3-12-1. Patricia is now 9-22-1 in two years as a head coach and will face pressure to turn things around in 2020 despite retaining his job for next season.

Finding a new defensive coordinator will be an important start despite his extensive background on that side of the ball with the New England Patriots. 

For Pasqualoni, this could potentially signify the end of a coaching career that has spanned more than four decades at the college and NFL level.

The 70-year-old has worked for five different NFL teams during his career, spending five years as a defensive coordinator with the Lions, Cowboys and Dolphins. He was perhaps best known for his 14 years as head coach at Syracuse, where he went 107-59-1 with a 6-3 record in bowl games.

Pasqualoni also spent parts of three seasons as head coach of Connecticut but struggled to a 10-18 record.