Pete Carroll confirms change with Patrick Graham this season

In a sign of confidence, Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll kept defensive coordinator Patrick Graham as a holdover from the previous regime.

Usually, a new coach would hope to install their own staff when they arrive with a new team. However, Graham has earned Carroll’s trust heading into the new season. After last year, where Graham’s defense finished in the middle of the road in most categories, he will now be tasked to getting that side of the ball up to speed.

In order to make that happen, Carroll is implementing a major change in how Graham will see the game.

Carroll is placing Graham in a different spot than in years past.

During Carroll’s media availability on Sunday, the head coach confirmed that Graham will be coaching from the sidelines this season, as opposed to the booth.

“I really like him on the field,” Carroll said. “He has real command. He’s best when he can really look these guys in the eye and help them on the sidelines.”

When Graham was brought on to the Raiders in 2022 by then-head coach Josh McDaniels, he was calling plays from the booth where most of the coaching staff is. This strategy continued under Antonio Pierce last season, but Carroll is now changing things up.

“We took a peek at it in the preseason and liked the way [Graham] was able to see everything,” McDaniels said back in 2022. “They’re up there, they feel like they have a great birds-eye view of what’s going on. You can see things more in real time.”