Get to know defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, including what he loves about coaching.
What got you interested in coaching:
"I fell in love with it. The first thing was, I went to get my MBA for free to be a graduate assistant. And I thought that I was going to go to Wall Street. I just fell in love with coaching football because I grew up as a teacher, in terms of Sunday school class when I was younger, tutoring programs when I was in college. So, teaching was in my blood, and football provided the outlet to teach and having it be the sport I grew up loving."
Describe your coaching style:
"However you want to define it, but a player's coach in terms of trying to find the best way to help them improve. Then try to put them in the best position on game day to execute their job and create a fun environment to get work done. So, I'm not sure that's how they would define what a player's coach is, but that would be my style. And I think that the important thing is just to be consistent and lead by example, and I try to do that."
What do you love about coaching:
"Teaching and being around young people. They keep me young. It's so rewarding. It's so rewarding to see them get something done and then be able to execute it under pressure at a fast pace. And after all that work, you see their accomplishment, that's the most fun."
Favorite coaching moment:
"It's easy to say when you win the Super Bowl, but that's probably not it. Well, it had to do with that Super Bowl.
"In 2014, the bye week before (New England) played Seattle. We were practicing, and I was in charge of the run game scouting report. Seattle had Marshawn Lynch, and he was the beast. I did a meeting for our run game scouting report, and I'll never forget when Vince Wilfork came up to me. Because I started as a young coach in New England, but here I am a position coach. He just gave me a nod, and he said that meeting was all right. And Vince, the way he said it, it was probably one of my prouder moments. Here is one of the best players that ever played the game, and telling me my meeting was, that was a solid meeting right there. And then we won the game because of what we did against the run. Not because of me, but how the players executed. That always brings a smile to my face. His reaction after that meeting always brings a smile to my face."
Best advice you have received in coaching:
"Coach Dave Clawson, when I was a young coach trying to jump from job to job, he said to me, stop looking for the next job and just get really good at what you're doing. Treat it like graduate school. And once I did that, my career just started going up and up."
Offseason relaxation/reset:
"I don't have hobbies, but what do I like to do? My wife knows there's a few places on the planet where I actually stopped thinking about football. Martha's Vineyard being one, Italy being another one. Whenever I'm there, I stop thinking about football for a few days."
More about Patrick Graham:
Prior to joining the Steelers, Patrick Graham spent four seasons (2022-25) as the Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator, and is in his 17th year coaching in the NFL.
During his NFL coaching career, Graham has held a variety of defensive roles with the New England Patriots (2009-15), New York Giants (2016-17, 2020-21), Green Bay Packers (2018), Miami Dolphins (2019) and Raiders (2022-25). He has been a defensive coordinator each of the last seven years, including also holding the title of assistant head coach with the Giants from 2020-21.
Teams that Graham has been a part of have qualified for the playoffs eight times, with seven division titles, two conference championships and a win in Super Bowl XLIX with New England.
The Raiders defense ranked in the Top 15 in multiple categories under Graham's guidance over the last four years, with players like linebacker Robert Spillane and defensive end Maxx Crosby flourishing, with Crosby earning four of his five Pro Bowl selections under Graham's guidance (2022-25).
During the 2024 season, the Raiders' defense ranked in the Top 15 in total defense (333.1 yards/game), rush defense (116.9 yards/game) and pass defense (216.2 yards/game). A total of 18 different players recorded at least a half sack, the most in single-season Raiders' history.
Spillane had a career-high158 tackles in 2024, ranked third in the NFL, and set a Raiders single-season record. Crosby was selected to the Pro Bowl for the third consecutive year in 2024, with 45 tackles, 17 tackles for a loss, seven and a half sacks and five passes defensed in just 12 games. The defensive line as a whole accounted for 20 passes defensed, which ranked second-most among defensive lines units in the NFL in 2024.
The Raiders' defense finished ninth in the NFL in scoring defense (19.5 points allowed/game) in 2023, a 17-place improvement from the 2022 season. The defense also went from 28th overall in the NFL in 2022, to 15th overall in 2023.
Prior to joining the Raiders, Graham was the assistant head coach/defensive coordinator for the New York Giants from 2020-21. During his time with the Giants the defense saw significant improvement, going from 20th in the NFL in rush defense before he arrived, to 10th in his first season. The pass defense was ranked 16th in the NFL in his first season, after being ranked 28th the year prior to his arrival.
In 2021, the Giants defense was tied for fourth in the NFL in passes defensed (83) and tied for 12th in interceptions. The defense also held teams to 225.8 passing yards per game, which ranked 15th in the NFL.
Graham's arrival in New York signified an improvement for the Giants defense in 2020, ranking ninth in scoring defense (21 points allowed per game), and 12th in total defense (349.3 yards allowed per game) after finishing 27th (377.3 yards a game) after finished 27th in 2019. It was their best defensive finish since 2016 when the Giants ranked 10th in the NFL.
Among those who found immediate success under Graham were inside linebacker Blake Martinez, Pro Bowl cornerback James Bradberry and safety Logan Ryan. Martinez led the Giants, and was ranked third in the NFL, with 151 tackles. Bradberry led the team with three interceptions and was tied for second in the NFL with 18 passes defensed. Ryan made a switch to safety and finished second on the team with 92 tackles.
