Raiders DC Patrick Graham Breaks Silence on Working With Pete Carroll originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
When the Las Vegas Raiders hired Pete Carroll as head coach, there was plenty of excitement about bringing the Super Bowl champion to the franchise. However, some fans were very concerned about who he’d hire for his coaching staff.
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One of the most important decisions was who was going to be his defensive coordinator. There was some speculation that he’d hire a retread like Gus Bradley, Ken Norton Jr. or Kris Richard.
Instead, Carroll decided to retain Patrick Graham, who has been with the team since 2022. Graham runs a very different style of defense than Carroll is used to from his Seattle Seahawks days, but that doesn’t seem to be a problem yet.
Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham with Maxx Crosby.Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Graham hasn’t had a chance to talk to the media since Carroll was hired, but he is already a big fan of the coach.
“The thing with the NFL is that every season is a season of change, so we get accustomed to it; each week is a week of change,” Graham told reporters on Wednesday. “I would say, we’re all used to something like that, to a certain degree. Working with Pete’s been great. The energy, the football knowledge, learning from there and just having somebody to be able to talk about how situational football, talk about defensive philosophy has been great for me. … I couldn’t be happier with the situation. It’s been great.
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Graham has been in the mix to be a head coach for years, and working with Carroll could greatly help his chances of finally landing a head job.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 4, 2025, where it first appeared.