Patrick Graham - DC

Steelers are close to signing Las Vegas DC coordinator Patrick Graham. Very meh...his record and hiring. I would have preferred Jim Schwartz.

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/steelers-close-signing-defensive-coordinator-201055627.html

 

Graham didn't have much to work with at the Raiders and Green Bay's defenses were middle of the pack.

McCarthy being the coach means a shift in philosophy and the allocation is going to gradually shift from defense to offense. If he is planning on running a West Coast style offense, that means having an elite O-Line and draft/ free agent receivers.

I don't think this is a home run hire, merely a serviceable one. A trademark of McCarthy coached teams is points and using the running game to protect a middling defense.

I hope he has a better scheme for the secondary than the previous regime.

 

Should've waited for Schwartz tho he's a
4 3 guy

Al Harris a better option too imo

 

He's a guy who's good enough to continuously get jobs but not great enough to further his career. He's done well with the talent provided to him. This isn't a hire that I downright hate, but not a hire I'm jumping for joy. The biggest red flag is in the 7 years hes been an DC, none of the teams he coached for went above .500 and 6 of those had double-digit losses. That's not entirely his fault, but a wild trend. He's probably a C+ to B level coordinator. It'll be interesting what he does with our defensive personnel.

 

43 or 34 stuff is overblown these days as the league is transitioning more towards 425/335. And with that, we do have the personnel to transition to a 43 defense with Watt and Sawyer becoming DEs and Highsmith and Herbig becoming the OLBs. The only issue would be depth in the transition to 43.

 

We are going to find out if coaching improves the play of the roster. The roster and play could be better, but the record worse because of the QB play. In Mike M I trust??

 

So this is what self inflicted purgatory is like.

 

I’m not happy. This was the most important hires for McCarthy. We could have had a chance at Schwartz. The guy would have probably refitslized Watt and made Porter a superstar. We should have at least kicked the tires on Al Harris as well.

 

ARE WE THERE YET?

 

Saw this posted elsewhere about him:
https://steelersnow.com/bell-fix-to-steelers-defense-starts-with-this-change-at-coordinator/

and this:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5201880/2024/01/15/patrick-graham-raiders-defensive-coordinator/

Reading both of these, I’m pretty excited to see what he can do with a defense with a lot of talent.

the gist is that he doesn’t really have one preferred style of defense. He will adapt to what’s given to him. With Giants he tried a blitz heavy defense but was seeing it wasn’t working so he switched to a more heavy zone scheme. He comes from the Belichick tree so he can also disguise blitzes if need be.

He had Crosby and friends punching well above that defenses talent level.

 

We have been a 2-4-5 base now for several years. Who knows what we will run from here.

 

Good article here on Graham. Seems like a very experienced and capable coordinator

https://archive.is/2024.08.08-00465...patrick-graham-raiders-defensive-coordinator/

 

It's mid, so just what we'd expect from Art, I'd say.

But the team is ready for playoff wins and competing for it all according to him, so 12-5 and AFCCG here we come!

 

You think Highsmith and Herbig can play OLB in a 4-3. That job includes a lot of pass coverage. When I watch OLB's play in Pittsburgh's 3-4 their hands are on the ground not ready to run with a TE or RB on passing plays.

There is a huge difference between a 4-3 and a 3-4 for OLBs, and DEs.

AND, apparently Robert Spillane, who has found a crazy amount of success getting the hell out of Pittsburgh's 3-4.

 

I like it. Mike delivered. Graham spent years with the Pats and was a DC under Flores. We stay true to the Capers 34 defense with an experienced NFL coach.

 

I feel like we are never going to spend on a big name coordinator. This guy definitely doesn't cost much.

 

Have to give up draft picks for Schwartz.

 

Have to give up draft picks for Schwartz.

 

Have to give up draft picks for Schwartz.

 

Ronney’s are cheap. Small staffs, low pay.