The Las Vegas Raiders are hiring New York Giants assistant head coach Patrick Graham as their defensive coordinator, sources confirmed to ESPN.
Graham, 43, joins newly hired head coach Josh McDaniels in Las Vegas after spending the past two seasons as the Giants’ defensive coordinator under Joe Judge.
He has a working relationship with new Giants head coach Brian Daboll from their time together (2013-15) with the New England Patriots. Daboll said the team had hoped to keep Graham if he did not land a head-coaching job elsewhere.
“I’ve had a good relationship with Pat for some time in this league,” Daboll said at his introductory news conference earlier this week. “He’s very diligent. He’s smart. I think the players respect him. He understands different defenses and I have a good working relationship with him. I did when I was back at New England.
“Certainly, we hope that he has an opportunity to become a head coach. I think that’s everybody’s dream, but selfishly, I would love him to be here. He offers a lot to our program. I think he’d be a great support system for me and I’m hoping that that works out.”
The Giants’ defense was ranked 12th in the NFL in 2020 under Graham. It was 21st this past season. Graham is held in high regard by the Giants organization and had interviewed for its head-coaching position.
NFL Network first reported Graham’s hire by the Raiders.
ESPN’s Jordan Raanan contributed to this report.
Source : ESPN
