Jun 10, 2025; Henderson, NV, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith (7) performs a drill during Las Vegas Raiders Minicamp at Intermountain Health Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images Candice Ward-Imagn Images

The Raiders' Response to Change Will Make or Break Season

Originally posted on Las Vegas Raiders on SI
By Ezekiel Trezevant | Last updated Jun 30, 2025 1:00 PM ET

The Las Vegas Raiders have made sweeping changes to their coaching staff and roster this offseason. They were changes that needed to be made after another disappointing season, yet the Raiders will have to work through growing pains to implement those changes fully.

Following Organized Team Activities, Raiders Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham addressed the Raiders' offseason.

"The thing about the NFL, every season is a season of change, so we get accustomed to it. Each week is a week of change. So, I would say that we're all used to something like that to a certain degree. But just working with Pete [Carroll] has been great. He has been great," Graham said.

"Just the energy, talked about that, the football knowledge, learning from there, and just having somebody to be able to talk to about situational football, talk about defensive philosophy. It's been great for me, and me being selfish, just talking about from my perspective, I couldn't be happier with the situation. It's been great."

Graham is one of the few remaining coaches from the past two Raiders' regimes. However, he noted that even if the Raiders had not switched coaches, he enters every season expecting change somewhere along the way.

This should bode well for Graham as his defense has changed nearly half of its starters from the end of last season. He will be tasked with working through several changes on the defensive side of the ball and having his unit ready as the offense deals with numerous changes of its own.

"Each season is so different. Every season, it's 32 teams that have great optimism about the season. So, the thing I can say about the '25 Raiders, we're having fun out there, we're learning how to practice at a high level in the vision of how Pete [Carroll] wants it. So again, there's no certain feeling or anything, because the seasons are always different," Graham said.

"But I just know that this group of men right here, they're forming a bond. They're understanding how it's based on relationships here. And the biggest thing that we have to focus on right now it's not real, true football, but we've got to play with great effort. Great effort, communication, get our fundamentals down. So, that's usually stuff we talk about every season."

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

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