Breaking: Shocking” Two coachs in competition to coach raiders due to…..
Patrick Graham may be a familiar name to some Seahawks fans from a particular game in the 2020 season.
Another name has surfaced in the wide-ranging search for the next Seattle Seahawks head coach.
Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham is set to interview for the Seahawks job, having already spoken with the Los Angeles Chargers earlier this month.
Very quietly, the Raiders were a top-10 defense by DVOA under Graham, who’s been Vegas’ DC since 2022. Vegas was one of the NFL’s best defenses after Josh McDaniels was fired, allowing just 16 points per game over nine weeks.
Graham is part of the, shall we say, highly scrutinized Bill Belichick coaching tree. From 2009-2015, Graham wore many hats in New England, and was the linebackers coach when the Patriots won Super Bowl XLIX over Seattle.
Another reason you might be familiar with Graham, even if not directly by name, is because of a specific game from the 2020 ‘Let Russ Cook’ season. Graham was the New York Giants defensive coordinator who shut down Russell Wilson and the Seahawks offense to the tune of a season-low 12 points in a 17-12 stunner at Lumen Field.Graham has never been a head coach, but after the strong end to the season for the Raiders defense, he’ll surely be getting more looks at a head coach role.
While the Las Vegas Raiders are rumored to be close to naming their new general manager, all indications point to owner Mark Davis hiring interim head coach Antonio Pierce as their next permanent coach.
Since Pierce is a defensive-minded coach and has never been a coordinator or head coach in the NFL, interest in his eventual choice for offensive coordinator has created a buz
On Monday, radio host Colin Cowherd, citing an anonymous source with the Raiders, said if Pierce does get the job, he could bring in former Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury as his new offensive coordinator.
Kliff Kingsbury has been rumored to be interviewing with the Chicago Bears and for various open college football jobs as well. He spent the 2023 college football season as the senior offensive analyst and quarterbacks coach for the USC Trojans, where he coached Caleb Williams, the likely overall first pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Williams declared for the NFL Draft on Monday as well.
Kliff Kingsbury spent 10 years as a college coach before taking the job with the Cardinals in 2019. He was fired after the 2022 season after going 28-27-1 in four years in Arizona.
While the coach at Texas Tech, Kingsbury coached NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes and now may have to face his former player twice a year in the AFC West if he joins the Raiders.
Pierce is the rumored favorite to win the Raiders job after he took over for the fired Josh McDaniels midseason. Pierce finished 5-4, going 3-1 in the AFC West and beating the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas.
