Pete Carroll Patrick Graham Raiders
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Pete Carroll coaches from the sidelines during a Raiders preseason game against the Cardinals on August 23, 2025.
During his media availability on Sunday August 24, 2025, Las Vegas Raiders Head Coach Pete Carroll explained why defensive coordinator Patrick Graham will coach from the sidelines this season.
“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.”
This is a big change from the past few seasons for the NFL veteran Graham, 46. Graham was hired by Josh McDaniels in 2022, retained by Antonio Pierce, and still remains in command of the defense with Carroll.
Graham has coached from the booth in recent seasons under McDaniels, who had the opposite opinion of Carroll in terms of where Graham would be the most effective.
“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.”
Josh McDaniels felt “decent” about moving Patrick Graham to the booth.@PeteCarroll thinks Graham is “best when he can look these guys in the eye and help them on the sideline.”
Josh wanted him to see.
Pete wants him to talk.
Graham will be on the field this year. pic.twitter.com/coVSxGP5G0
— HouseRules (@houserules789) August 25, 2025
Graham’s sideline leadership with the Raiders defense is certainly a dynamic to monitor this season, as it will greatly affect the success of Las Vegas’s young defensive group.
Raiders Looking To Improve Defensively This Season
The Raiders were by no means an elite defensive team in 2024. They were right in the middle of the pack in passing defense at 15th with 216.2 yards allowed per game and in rushing defense at 13th with 116.9 yards allowed per game.
They were also 15th in total defense, with 333.1 yards allowed per game.
In the clutch, things got substantially worse. The Raiders were below average on third down, sitting at 17th in defense third down rate at 39.8%.
They were worse in the red zone: opposing offenses scored touchdowns on 60.3% of their trips to the red zone against the Raiders. That ranked in the bottom-third of the league at 21st.
The Raiders were particularly poor at keeping opposing offenses off the board. They allowed an average of 25.5 points per game last season, tied for seventh-worst in the league.
Of course, all of that was under Graham’s leadership.
The Raiders did add several proven defenders on the defensive side of the ball this offseason. That is particularly true at linebacker, where the Raiders added three former Pro Bowlers, a two time Super Bowl champion and one of the most prolific tacklers in the league.
The Raiders’ installment of Carroll as Head Coach is also relevant to the defense. Carroll of course led the famously dominant Legion of Boom defenses with the Seattle Seahawks.
Maybe the tweak to Graham’s leadership style will be the final thing the Raiders need to be elite defensively in 2025.
Why Have The Raiders Kept Graham Around?
It’s clear the Raiders did not have a great year defensively last season. Which begs the question: why did Carroll keep Graham around?
After all, new head coaches usually overhaul the coaching staff. Carroll did that on offense, bringing in national champion offensive coordinator Chip Kelly to lead Geno Smith, Brock Bowers, Ashton Jeanty and the rest of the Raiders O.
Graham’s tenure in Las Vegas hasn’t exactly been superb. The Raiders haven’t made the playoffs since he took over as defensive coordinator.
But Graham does have a lot of noteworthy NFL coaching experience. He has coached in different capacities with the New England Patriots, New York Giants, Green Bay Packers, and Miami Dolphins.
He even won Super Bowl XLIX with the Patriots as their linebackers coach and served as the Giants’ assistant head coach and defensive coordinator from 2020-2021.
For the organization to have retained him, and for Carroll to want him on the sidelines, it’s likely that the players like working with Graham as well.
But rest assured, if the Raiders defense is disappointing this season, it’s likely that Carroll will move on from Graham. Carroll, the oldest coach in NFL history, wants to turn the Raiders into a winning team as soon as possible.
What do you think of Patrick Graham as a coach, Raiders fans?