Raiders bringing back Patrick Graham as defensive coordinator on Pete Carroll’s staff, per report

There’s a new regime in Las Vegas with head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Spytek in charge, but the Raiders did ensure there will be some continuity. The team re-signed Patrick Graham for his fourth season as their defensive coordinator on Wednesday, per an NFL Media report. 

Graham’s return means he will be retained as the Raiders defensive coordinator under his third different head coach. He worked on Josh McDaniels’ staff in 2022 and 2023 and Antonio Pierce’s staff in 2024. The upcoming 2025 season will be his seventh as an NFL defensive coordinator, previously working in the position with the Miami Dolphins (2019), New York Giants (2020-2021) and then the last three seasons with Las Vegas. He did consider leaving this offseason, interview with the Jacksonville Jaguars’ head coach and defensive coordinator openings as well the Cincinnati Bengals’ defensive coordinator opening.

The Raiders had a tough go of it in 2024, ranking 25th in scoring defense (25.5 points per game) and 15th in total defense (333.1 total yards per game allowed) after season-ending injuries to four-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby and 2024 free agency addition defensive tackle Christian Wilkins. Las Vegas’ leading tackler in Robert Spillane is set to hit free agency after racking up 306 tackles across the last two seasons, the fourth-most in the entire league in that span. Maybe having Graham back in the fold could convince him to remain a Raider.