Patrick

Graham

The news was broken by Josina Anderson. Graham is only 47 years old but is becoming a coordinating lifer, spending the past four years in Vegas and a year in Miami before that. A Bill Belichick acolyte, Graham’s Steelers connection comes from his year on Mike McCarthy’s Packers staff in 2018. The Raiders’ defense was not “the problem” for the Silver and Black last season, but it certainly wasn’t the solution, either. Graham will have more to work with in the Steel City. It’s not a needle-moving hire, but it’s not a bad move.

Graham is currently on his way to Pittsburgh. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that “the expectation in some league circles” is that Graham will get the gig “if all goes well.” He previously interviewed for the Dolphins head-coaching vacancy and has been linked to the Commanders’ defensive coordinator vacancy as well.

Graham worked for Mike McCarthy in Green Bay. The Steelers let all of Mike Tomlin’s staff out of their contracts, so they’ll likely need to fill the role with someone new. It wouldn’t be surprising if Graham was choosing from a few different options — including remaining Raiders defensive coordinator — once all the head-coaching seats are settled. He did interview for the Dolphins head-coaching gig last week before it went to Jeff Hafley, and he had an interview request from Washington a few weeks ago for their defensive coordinator vacancy.

The Dolphins are the first team to meet with Graham as a potential head coaching fit this cycle. The long-time defensive coordinator was in the same role with the Dolphins during the 2019 season, but has spent the last four seasons as the Raiders’ defensive coordinator despite the team going through three head coaching changes over that span. Graham’s defense allowed the fourth-lowest yards per carry on the ground last season, but ranked 25th in points allowed and 14th in total yards allowed. Graham becomes the eighth coach to interview with the Fins for their head coach opening. We’ll see if he’s one of the few called back for a second interview in the coming days.

It’s Graham’s first head-coaching interview request of the cycle — he did have a DC request with the Commanders. The Raiders brought him back despite massive turnover on the offensive side of the ball and at head coach last year, so it’s possible if they hired an offense-first head coach that they’d seek to bring Graham back again in 2026. Graham did have two head-coaching interviews with the Jaguars in 2025.

The Raiders had a bumpy year, but Graham’s defense allowed the 11th-fewest yards per play (5.1) to opponents this season. Graham interviewed for the Jaguars, Chargers and Seahawks head-coaching vacancies in 2025. The Commanders’ defense struggled under defensive-minded head coach Dan Quinn this year. Adding Graham to his staff could be a very smart move.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero was first. After previous reports that the Raiders were “working on a deal” to bring Graham back, things became official overnight. Graham has served as the Raiders’ defensive coordinator since 2022 and interviewed for a handful of head coaching positions this offseason before finding his way back to Vegas. Last season, Graham’s defense ranked 25th in points allowed but 15th in total yards allowed. They also ranked in the top 16 in both EPA per play and success rate. The advanced stats suggest Graham’s defense was far better than the 25.5 points per game they allowed in 2024. With head coach Pete Carroll and Tom Brady taking on a bigger role as a part-owner, the best days could be ahead for Graham, who should have a much better roster to work with in 2025.

The Raiders have explored multiple options while attempting to fill Pete Carroll’s DC role but Graham’s return appears imminent. The veteran coach has held the Raiders’ DC role for each of the past three seasons. He also interviewed for the Jaguars and Bengals’ DC vacancies.

The flimsy way this was worded makes us think that Graham may not be a first choice for the Raiders, who have also interviewed in-house defensive line coach Rob Leonard and requested permission to speak to Seattle defensive backs coach Karl Scott for the vacancy. Graham has also been interviewed for the Jaguars defensive coordinator gig and was reportedly a finalist for the Bengals defensive coordinator job.

The Jaguars already interviewed Graham twice for their head-coaching vacancy, so we assume they are on pretty familiar terms at this point. Graham was a finalist for Cincinnati’s defensive coordinator job and interviewed for the Chargers and Seahawks head coaching jobs last offseason. With Pete Carroll now in charge in Vegas, Graham is more or less a free agent. He would be a quality addition to a Jags defense that has had real holes to hide for a few years now.