The Las Vegas Raiders' new leadership tandem of John Spytek and Pete Carroll chose to keep defensive coordinator Patrick Graham in the building when they accepted their jobs in January. That made their decision to completely gut the Raiders' defense this offseason all the more surprising.
While the new duo was hard at work rebuilding the roster and melding Carroll's and Graham's defensive philosophies together, Raider Nation had a hard time believing that the unit would have as much success as years past.
Graham, however, has hung his hat on getting the most out of his players since his arrival in Las Vegas. This has been especially true at the linebacker position with Denzel Perryman and Robert Spillane, but the first two games of this season have proven that he can elevate practically any player.
Raiders' Patrick Graham could be in line for a head coaching gig
Las Vegas currently has the fifth-best scoring defense in the NFL, giving up just 16.5 points per game. Their two opponents have averaged a combined 30 points per game in their other matchups this season.
The Raiders also have arguably the best run defense in the league. Not only have they yet to give up a touchdown on the ground, but they have also relinquished just 141 yards in two games. This is the fourth-fewest in the league, and they are giving up the fourth-fewest yards per carry as well.
While the pass defense has not been phenomenal, they are frequently bending and not breaking. Especially in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Chargers, the Raiders' offense dealt the defense several bad hands, but they only gave up 20 points in the contest to a high-powered offense.
All of this success has Raiders fans bracing themselves for the possibility of Graham leaving for a head coaching gig after this season. After all, he has been on the short list with teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars in recent years, and 2025 may be his ultimate coming-out party.
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Graham will have to compete with bright emerging coaches like the Buffalo Bills' Joe Brady, the Chargers' Jesse Minter and the Green Bay Packers' Jeff Hafley for an unknown number of head coaching positions, but it is not at all impossible that he lands a head job.
Being a head coach is not just about the Xs and Os; it is about being able to impact an entire team with your approach. Super Bowl-winning veteran linebacker Devin White spoke to the media after Monday's loss and proved that Graham is fully capable of that.
"Coach PG, man, he's a mastermind. He calls himself a nerd. He's always spending time in the building when everybody's sleeping and resting. He's always working, and it just shows credit to the hard work that he's putting in," White said. "The defense is following his lead, and he's making football fun for the entire group. You know, we got a lot of personnels and we working with what we got, and we just going out there making plays, staying together."
In the 66-year history of the Raiders' organization, they have never had an assistant coach or coordinator be hired directly from their staff as the head coach of another NFL team. While this would be unfamiliar territory for the fan base, it would be gratifying to see Graham get a head coaching job.
After all, he has remained loyal to the Shield throughout three different regimes and has done the best he could with some terrible cards he was dealt. If he has enough success this year that other teams are coveting him as their leader, it would be bittersweet for Raider Nation, but ultimately, a sign of success for both parties.