With the introduction of Mike McCarthy as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ new coach – officially – on Tuesday, comes the continued flurry of interviews and upcoming hires as McCarthy retains and brings the staff he wants to surround himself with. On Thursday, as reported by several sources including Gerry Dulac and Senior NFL insider Josina Anderson, McCarthy and the Steelers are brining in Patrick Graham to interview for the defensive coordinator position.
BREAKING
As first reported by Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the #Steelers are close to hiring Patrick Graham as Mike McCarthy’s defensive coordinator, per sources.
Graham ran the Raiders’ defense the past three seasons, finishing 13th in total defense in 2025.… pic.twitter.com/A3EFrryRFg— (@steelcityundrgr) January 28, 2026
Graham, the current defensive coordinator of the Las Vegas Raiders, also recently led the National Team in the Reese’s Senior Bowl in 2023. We look at how Graham fits with McCarthy and what he’d offer Pittsburgh as their defensive coordinator.
Graham’s coaching history
Ted Nguyen of The Athletic, who did a great piece on Graham in 2024, pointed out how Graham focused on studying opponents while under Bill Belichick in New England.
“It trained my eyes to be able to look at the tape and, OK, I could see a bunch of stuff at one time and be able to draw it… So that’s something in terms of just how to see the game, that came from New England. And I think it helps me now as a play caller because I can figure out quickly what opponents are doing and get an idea.”
Graham coached the New York Giants defensive line under Steve Spagnuolo in 2016, learning exotic pressure packages before moving to the Green Bay Packers in 2017 to coach linebackers and coordinate the defensive run game with Mike Pettine where he learned more about cover 4 packages. He became a defensive coordinator for the first time with the Miami Dolphins under Brian Flores in 2019 before returning to the Giants (2020) and joining the Raiders in 2022.
Graham told Nguyen,
“I’m by nature more of a front guy. You want to minimize the run game and you want to eliminate explosive pass plays. So how do you do that? If you can bring more people into it that have to be decision-makers, the better off you’ll be to have a chance for negative play.”
How he fits with Pittsburgh, McCarthy
Graham is familiar with the 3-4 base but has schemed based on the personnel he has available. With the Raiders, he knew Maxx Crosby did better as a 4-3 end than a 3-4 EDGE and retooled the defense to match his best playmakers.
The Steelers utilize a 3-4 base, but have had to adapt under Teryl Austin’s scheme – with mixed results. So, Graham – the type of defensive-minded coach who prepares to understand what the other team will try to do – could not only build on that base, but improve it.
His past use of exotic schemes, especially on blitzes, could see T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith not going straight-out play after play for the quarterback – as Austin often expected them to do – but be involved in more stunts and delayed pressures. The Steelers saw success allowing Nick Herbig on the field on the same play with Watt and Highsmith in the latter part of the 2025 regular season, creating a big mismatch for the opposing offensive line, and that would be a tool Graham would be more likely to utilize than Austin did.
Graham, having worked with McCarthy in the past, is aware of the tradition Pittsburgh has always placed on defense. McCarthy said in his introductory press conference that he believes defenses win championships. That seems to indicate that he will lean on his defensive coordinator to push players for top placement among league defenses.
Where Austin had become predictable, Graham has bucked such trends. His consistency has been in creativity, flow, and adaptability. He doesn’t believe in just a single scheme, never has. What works works, and everything else gets put on the back burner until it’s time to game plan for the next opponent.
The Steelers have needed to be less predictable, more adaptable, and allowed to be more diverse on defense. Graham is likely to bring just that should he join the organization under McCarthy.