When the Las Vegas Raiders decided to part ways with head coach Antonio Pierce, it was unclear what that meant for his staff. Of particular note was defensive coordinator Patrick Graham whose contract had run out and was drawing interest from multiple teams around the league.
It seemed as if Graham would certainly be headed to a new destination, but that won’t be the case as ESPN has reported that the Raiders are re-signing Graham to remain with the team as their defensive coordinator under new coach Pete Carroll:
The Las Vegas Raiders are re-signing Patrick Graham to be their defensive coordinator, according to multiple reports.
Graham has been with the franchise since 2022, when he was hired by then-coach Josh McDaniels and stayed on as part of Antonio Pierce’s staff.
Graham’s contract expired at the end of this season, and he interviewed twice for the Jaguars head coaching vacancy before they hired Liam Coen. Graham also interviewed for the Jacksonville defensive coordinator job.
Carroll will be the third coach whom Graham will serve under since joining the Raiders, but he has clearly done enough to impress and retain his position. Despite the rough season overall, and multiple injuries to key pieces, the Raiders were still able to finish a solid 15th in the NFL in yards allowed.
Superstar defensive end Maxx Crosby was limited to 12 games while big free agency signing Christian Wilkins was lost for the year after just five games. Despite that, Graham was still able to hold this unit together and get excellent season from the likes of linebacker Robert Spillane, defensive tackle Adam Butler and pass rusher K’Lavon Chaisson. Prior to the season finale, the Raiders had actually held teams under 20 points in four of five games.
There were some rumors that Carroll could look to bring in Gus Bradley to run the defense, but the franchise decided that Graham was worth keeping around and if he can get good health and a little more talent in his unit, there is no telling what he can do.
Russell Wilson ‘intrigued’ by idea of joining Raiders?
Patrick Graham will undoubtedly do everything in his power to make the Raiders defense as good as it can be, but the offense still has a major question at the quarterback position. One name that has been floated around as a possible short-term solution is Russell Wilson and apparently he has long eyed the Raiders as a team he wants to play for.
A recent report noted that Wilson has long been ‘intrigued’ by the idea of joining the Raiders franchise and his prior relationship with new coach Pete Carroll could lead to a reunion in Las Vegas.
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