Patrick Graham is still technically the Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator; however, that can change—the Seattle Seahawks are calling again. It looks like “PG” might be a head coach sooner rather than later.
When the Raiders jettisoned former head coach Josh McDaniels, something clicked. That’s especially true for Graham’s boys. The team tightened the screws and started surrendering fewer and fewer points—more importantly, they began winning. You could certainly make the argument that the defense was essentially carrying the team in the second half of the season. Players such as Malcolm Koonce and Jack Jones flourished under Graham’s guidance—again, once McDaniels was out.
However, losing Graham so soon into Antonio Pierce’s start as the new Raiders head coach is not an optimal scenario. It does speak volumes, though, that the Seahawks think so highly of Graham’s exploits with such a small sample. Nevertheless, Graham is indeed getting a second interview for the head coaching vacancy left by Pete Carroll’s departure this offseason (h/t Tom Pelissero).
If you recall, Graham was very proud of the job that the Raiders defense did this past season. Some even argued it sounded like a “good-bye.”
“I’m not trying to get emotional, but I’ve had the most fun coaching this group of guys than any I have in my whole career. It’s been a real fun year. I’m proud to be a part of the Raiders.”
We should also note that Patrick Graham interviewed with the Los Angeles Chargers—yes, we know. That would be a tremendous loss if Graham were to switch to an AFC West rival. For now, Raiders fans will need to wait to see if their team will lose a pivotal contribution to the late-season turnaround.
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Never been a big Patrick Graham fan; with that said, I’ll give him his due for this season.
As a head coach, I think he will be a complete bust.
I will reply to this because I want it on record. But based on what I have heard about Patrick Graham so far, I badly want him to be our next coach in Seattle. I think he’s going to be one of the greatest of all time!
Frankly, they are giving Graham way too much credit for the sudden improvement of the defense. It was only when Coach Pierce took over that the defense started to play great. And you know who his consultant was? Marvin Lewis, the next defensive coordinator for the Raiders. I never liked the hiring of Graham for the obvious reason that he does not fit the scheme. Graham is a 3-4 coach being asked to run a 4-3. When Bradley became DC in 2021 the defense improved tremendously in points allowed. He was a 4-3 coach. Why wasn’t he given another year? Because McDaniels was and still is an anus cavity of the first order. You wanna run a 4-3 then hire a 4-3 coach. In 2022 Derek Carr and the offense gave us good leads. What did Graham’s defense do? IT BLEW THEM!!!! Bye Bye Graham. I bid you adieu.