Matt Patricia does not have a burner account. That much we know now after the prankster revealed himself after he fooled social media into believing a fake account he ran was a secret “burner” account belonging to the former Detroit Lions head coach.
Dylan Cardwell, a Los Angeles Rams fan, revealed himself to be the voice behind the suspiciously pro-Patricia Twitter account that had drawn the scrutiny of football fans, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Cardwell told the Free Press that he came up with the idea of creating the phony burner after falling for similar such hoaxes in the past.
“I honestly was not expecting to do as much as it did,” Cardwell said. “Honestly, like I thought there would be something like mainly just within the Lions fan base, there would be a little bit of chatter. … It really got a lot bigger than I had anticipated. It went from, in just a little over a day, it went from one follower to now we’re at like 2,500, I think. So definitely unexpected.”
Cardwell said he learned a lot from the experience, and wouldn’t rule out trying it again in the future.
“Who knows? Next year when there’s a whole new batch of head coaches on the hot seat, I might get a Round 2,” he said. “I did learn a few things. I definitely underestimated the investigative availability of people. I left too many bread crumbs that a lot of people doubted it right away.”
The 46-year-old Patricia was fired last week along with GM Bob Quinn after three-plus seasons at the helm in Detroit.
