Through countless changes in recent years for the Las Vegas Raiders, Patrick Graham has been, for lack of a better term, a survivor. As his fourth season as the Raiders' defensive coordinator winds down, Pete Carroll is the third head coach he has worked under.
It was easy to immediately question how philosophically aligned Carroll and Graham would be, and in recent weeks, things have definitely shifted toward Carroll's preference for Cover 3, for better or for worse.
Regardless of what happens with Carroll after the season, it's basically a lock that Graham will be relieved of his duties, and he surely knows it. Graham should have no trouble finding his next job, as the Raiders' defense has had some good moments this season, even if things got ugly at times.
Patrick Graham undeniably had a résumé game against the Texans
In Week 16 against the Houston Texans, the Raiders were surprisingly competitive, even leading at one point before ultimately losing by a score of 23-21. An early pick-six by the Texans' defense proved to be the difference, so this was a great defensive showing for Las Vegas.
The Raiders held the Texans to 16 offensive points, 270 yards of offense, 4.4 yards per play and 3.2 yards per carry in Week 16. They did not sack C.J. Stroud, but he also completed just four of 10 passes that traveled 10-19 yards in the air, according to Pro Football Focus.
As Jesse Merrick of Silver and Black Sports Network noted, it also resembled more of a Graham-style defense with mixes of pass coverage. After the game, Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans even took notice of the Raiders' defensive effort against his team.
"I feel like the Raiders are a good defensive unit. They haven't gotten enough credit for how good this unit is. Coach Graham has done a great job of coaching this defense. And really good players," Ryans said. "We knew it would be a challenge all week. I tell our guys, 'There ain't any easy wins in this league just because you look at a team's record. That's not indicative of who that team is. Everybody's gonna come out, they're gonna play hard.' We knew we would be up against a challenge, so it's no surprise. We knew we had to work for the yards."
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That praise from Ryans, one of the top defensive minds around, is very meaningful as Graham likely moves toward his next job. It is also worth noting that Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke is already garnering interest for head coach openings.
Multiple other teams with head coach vacancies may want to interview him as well, considering Houston's defensive success under his watch. So, whenever the Texans' season ends, Ryans could end up being in the market for a new defensive coordinator.
Graham seemed to take back control of the Raiders' defense in Week 16, and good results followed. As head coaches around the league start considering defensive coordinator candidates for next season, this was the kind of "résumé game" Graham needed as he gets set to leave his Raiders tenure in the rearview mirror.