How much will the Steelers’ defense change under new DC Patrick Graham?
The Steelers don’t just have a new defensive coordinator in Patrick Graham, they also have a new chief defensive architect. For most of Mike Tomlin’s tenure, he laid a heavy thumb on what the Steelers did defensively. Mike McCarthy’s background is defense, however, and there is virtually no carryover.
For many years, going back to Bill Cowher’s time, the Steelers had a reasonably clear lineage on defense that followed a core set of precepts. Tomlin inherited Dick LeBeau, who gave way to his successor, Keith Butler. All the while, Tomlin incrementally adapted it to his preferences, with Teryl Austin operating largely within that framework. Given the seismic change, one imagines the Steelers will afford Patrick Graham vastly more freedom.
While McCarthy said it’s important that the Steelers retain a 3-4 front, there is a lot Graham can do. One imagines he had a reasonable amount of say in whom the team hired as his assistants, too. A lot of them have McCarthy ties, most notably the one carryover, Scott McCurley. But Graham is the one who needs to be able to work with them most of all.
Even with the Steelers keeping the same structure and indications that they don’t plan to get the roster, the defense could still feature significant changes under Patrick Graham. Certain patterns and tendencies he prefers, coverage schemes, pressure packages, stunts, the list could be endless if you choose.
And it’s not like we don’t know what Graham’s history shows and how that could impact the Steelers’ defense. He has a trenches mindset, which does fit the organization’s general mentality. They hired Domata Peko as their defensive line coach, which kind of sets a certain tone.
For many years, we have heard other teams and former players call the Steelers’ defense predictable. This is by far the biggest change under Patrick Graham we will have seen in Pittsburgh in decades. We won’t know fully what that will look like until the season begins, of course. Even in the offseason, we can’t trust our eyes and ears because they’ll be experimenting.
The Steelers exited the playoffs in the first round yet again, a pattern going back to 2017.With seven consecutive postseason losses, and no wins in nearly a decade, they are facing another long, long offseason. No doubt we will see many changes, but none will top Mike Tomlin resigning.
The NFL has crowned its latest champion, but for us and the Steelers, we have been in offseason mode. That’s what happens when the team you coverloses by the middle of January all the time, but you’ve been around, so you know that already. Enjoy the ride, even the turbulence, because it’s the only way we know how to travel anymore.
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