Raiders' Patrick Graham Will Work His Magic, Again

Originally posted on Las Vegas Raiders on SI
By Ezekiel Trezevant | Last updated Jun 5, 2025 3:00 PM ET

The Las Vegas Raiders are on their third head coach and third offensive coordinator in as many seasons. Las Vegas has started five quarterbacks and four running backs in the past two seasons. There have been plenty of changes, but Raiders Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham remains.

Under new leadership, the Raiders have replaced many players this offseason, especially on defense, after losing nearly half of the unit's starters in free agency. The players on the field will be significantly different, but Graham's task of building and guiding a competent defense is still there.

Graham has been one of the bright spots over the past few seasons for a Raiders team that has had few bright spots to speak of. Specifically, Graham has continued to get the best out of defensive rosters that lack many household names. This has been the case for multiple seasons.

Two seasons ago, the Raiders had one of the lowest-paid defenses in the National Football League. Still, Graham was able to help the group excel to a middle-of-the-pack defense for the first half of the 2023-24 season, to one of the best in the league over the second half of that season.

Last season, Graham held the defense together despite the unit being decimated by injuries. He also did an admirable job considering the disadvantageous situations the Raiders' offense regularly left the defense in.

The Raiders will need him to once again get the most out of the Raiders' defense. As he enters another season with the Raiders, he spoke shortly after the team's Organized Team Activities.

"The continuity thing, again, I keep telling you guys, each season is so different. You take a step back, look at and evaluate yourself, me personally, like, 'What did I do, what can I do better, what was good?' Then you look at the defense and see what was good, what was bad. Then you've got to look within the league and see what the trends are. Because if you don't stay ahead of it, you can get in trouble," Graham said.

"So, I mean, it's important. You have to ask the players, maybe they can – but we start over every year, so that's a big part of it. But regardless, the other 31 teams don't care what our feelings are about continuity, so we've got to get on the same page. And that's why we spend all this time in the office, that's why we spend this time out on the field. So, we've got to get on the same page. Everybody's got to understand what the vision of Coach, how Coach wants this team to be run, and our play style and everything, and we've got to go from there."

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This article first appeared on Las Vegas Raiders on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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