Patrick Graham was a free agent this offseason. In a rare situation for a coach, the Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator passed on an extension in 2024 and allowed his contract to expire.
Graham has aspirations of becoming a head coach one day, but he was also leaving the door open to taking a defensive coordinator position elsewhere in case things didn’t work out with the Raiders. Sure enough, head coach Antonio Pierce and general manager Tom Telesco were fired following the 2024 season.
The Jacksonville Jaguars interviewed Graham for two roles — head coach and defensive coordinator — but he decided to return to Las Vegas. Defensive end Maxx Crosby and other players advocated for his reinstatement, but it was more dependent on him meshing well with new head coach Pete Carroll. During his interview, the two quickly found common ground. Soon after, Graham agreed to come back.
“With (Carroll’s) track record, I mean, why wouldn’t you listen?” Graham said Wednesday. “You’ve got to listen.”
Through OTAs, Graham hasn’t had any regrets.
“Working with Pete has been great,” Graham said. “The energy, the football knowledge and just having somebody to talk to about situation football and defensive philosophy, it’s been great for me. … I couldn’t be happier with the situation.”
Graham has been the Raiders’ defensive coordinator since 2022, but Carroll’s reputation as a defensive strategist raised questions about how his scheme would adapt in 2025.
Carroll is best known for his Seattle Seahawks defenses, which operated out of a Cover 3 base defense. In Cover 3, the two outside cornerbacks and the free safety drop back into deep zones while the linebackers and other defensive backs drop into underneath zones.
When executed well, the Cover 3 is effective at stopping deep passes and puts defenders in a good position to stop the run. Even when run properly, however, it can be susceptible to quick-hitting, short passes and routes that attack the seams in the defense. And if it isn’t disguised well, it’s easy for an offense to identify a Cover 3 prior to the snap.
Throughout his career, Graham has been an adaptable coordinator. He frequently uses 3-4, 4-3 and 5-2 fronts and has always mixed up his coverages. That has continued this spring. The Raiders have bounced between four- and five-man fronts, used both single-high and two-high safety alignments and used a variety of coverages. While the Raiders will certainly run Cover 3, it doesn’t seem it’ll be as frequently as during Carroll’s “Legion of Boom” days in the early 2010s.
Graham has been more focused on re-establishing the overall identity of the defense. The Raiders seemed to find it when they finished ninth in scoring defense in 2023, but a mix of poor injury luck and substandard play caused them to drop to 25th last year. They’re aiming for a bounce-back year in 2025.
“It starts with our effort,” Graham said. “One thing I’ve learned from coach (Carroll) is to simplify the message and just give it to ’em. … It doesn’t have to be 20 buzzwords or some paragraph or anything. You’ve got to play with great effort. We’re building the foundation for being a physical team. We’ve got to play smart.
“Those are the things in terms of what we want the defense to look like, and then make the offense earn it. No easy plays. You’ve got to take away the seams. You’ve got to take away posts. You can’t let them run the ball around the edge. It’s not real football in terms of the run game yet, but we have to have an understanding of, ‘That’s what we’re trying not to give up.'”
Given that several key members of the Raiders defense have played well in Graham’s system for multiple seasons now, it always made sense for Carroll to work to blend their principles together. And Graham has been able to learn from the elder statesman.
“I look at my career, and I’ve been blessed with the people I’ve been able to work with,” he said. “Whether it’s from Josh (McDaniels) to AP (Pierce), working with (Brian) Flores, working with coach (Bill) Belichick, (Steve) Spagnuolo. I mean, I’ve got a lot of football up in this brain. Now, I can’t pour all that out to these guys in terms of all that scheme. And then on top of that, you put Pete Carroll? I mean, I’m a football junkie who doesn’t have any hobbies. I couldn’t ask for more.”
Here are observations from the Raiders’ OTA practice Wednesday.
Observations
• Defensive tackles Christian Wilkins (foot) and Adam Butler (undisclosed) didn’t practice. Wilkins hasn’t practiced at all during OTAs, while this is the second straight week Butler has missed. Reserve receivers Alex Bachman and Collin Johnson also didn’t practice for undisclosed reasons.
• Second-year offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson has lined up exclusively at center during OTAs. He started games at left guard, center and right guard as a rookie, but center has always been his most natural position.
During his final season at Oregon in 2023, Powers-Johnson won the Rimington Trophy, which is given to the best center in college football. Clearly, it’s where both the second-year lineman and the Raiders feel he has the most upside. Additionally, he has improved his physique and technique.
“I’ve hammered down a routine,” Powers-Johnson said Wednesday. “I’ve lost 10 to 15 pounds. I’m faster. I’m stronger. I’m getting a lot better at technique. I’ve got to throw a lot of that on the coaches — they’ve been absolutely amazing. … Getting a real offseason at center is huge. Going back to my college years, I never had a real offseason of center — I was always playing five or six different positions. So, being able to really home in on one has been awesome. I think I’m going to make a great jump.”
• Safety Jeremy Chinn returned to practice Wednesday after missing practice last week. He’s a versatile piece on the defense who can line up as a deep safety, box safety or nickelback. He’s also someone who’ll frequently be used to blitz off the edge.
In turn, Isaiah Pola-Mao mostly operates as a deep safety. When Chinn works in the box, Pola-Mao shifts into a center-fielder role. He doesn’t have exceptional speed — he ran a 4.51-second 40-yard dash at his pro day — so it’ll be interesting to see if he’s able to fly from sideline to sideline in the way that’s required.
• It’s early, but it’s clear that Elandon Roberts is the front-runner to start at mike linebacker. The veteran has struggled in pass coverage in the past but has held up well in that area during OTAs. He has also stepped up to help younger linebackers such as Tommy Eichenberg, Amari Gainer and Cody Lindenberg.
“When I look at myself in the mirror, I definitely see a leader,” Roberts said Wednesday. “I’m real hard on myself. I think that adds value to the younger guys and even myself because I’m always thinking about being an example.”
• The Raiders’ three-day mandatory minicamp is next week. It’ll be the last time they practice until training camp begins in late July.
