Sebastian Joseph-Day Patrick Graham
Sebastian Joseph-Day Patrick Graham
The Pittsburgh Steelers had grown stale under former head coach Mike Tomlin, particularly on the defensive side of the football with Teryl Austin.
Players were frustrated with the defensive coordinator’s scheme and the play calling in big spots, and generally tired of feeling like they were playing with one arm tied behind their backs in an offensive-driven league.
Change came in the offseason with the Steelers hiring Mike McCarthy to succeed Tomlin. With him came defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, a coach who has generated quite a bit of buzz this offseason.
Though he’s never quite had a dominant defense, he’s known for his Xs and Os and general knowledge of the game. Now, he’s getting the chance to work with the most talented defense he’s ever had.
The Steelers are loaded defensively across the board, and excitement is high. One new player who is thrilled to work with Graham is defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day, who signed with the Steelers in free agency.
Appearing on the Deebo and Joe Show Tuesday from training camp, Joseph-Day raved about his new coordinator, detailing just what makes him great behind the scenes.
“I really fuck with him because his knowledge is like legit. It’s not like smoke and mirrors, you know what I’m saying? And he’s up front. He’ll just tell you how it is,” Joseph-Day said of Graham, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “And you need that, especially in this game, because there’s some coaches that sugarcoat and it’s like, ‘We’re defensive players. Let me know. Just let me know.'”
What professionals want is a coach who is up front and honest. There’s no need to sugarcoat things or beat around the bush. It sounds like Graham doesn’t do that at all, and that borrows from the same line of thinking that Tomlin had during his tenure as Steelers head coach.
Tomlin treated players with honesty, made expectations clear, and held everyone accountable (fairly, but not equally), and that allowed him to have a long, successful career.
Graham has a lot of those same traits.
“He’s very straightforward. He tells you how it is. Also, his Xs and Os knowledge is honestly impressive, because he’s a defensive line guy,” Joseph-Day said. “But he has great knowledge of the backfield as well, ’cause you know, he was with the Patriots and all that, Bill Belichick. So he has a real good understanding.”
That upbringing means a lot to players, considering New England was the league standard for more than two decades. Even with all the moving parts in the salary cap era, the Patriots were always well-prepared (sometimes illegally), played technically sound football and rarely beat themselves. They found players all over the place and developed them into key contributors.
That’s what the Steelers are aiming for, and Graham is going to be a big part of that. Players love him so far, and if things go as many expect on the field in 2026, that love will only grow stronger from the defensive side.