The Pittsburgh Steelers have made their first outside request for their next defensive coordinator. The team has reportedly asked the New York Giants to interview their DC Patrick Graham, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
This would be a lateral move for Graham, who has served as the Giants’ DC since 2020. In 2020, the Giants finished with the 9th best scoring defense but slid this year to 23rd.
After graduating from Yale, Graham broke into coaching in 2002 as an assistant at Wagner. His first NFL job came as an assistant under Bill Belichick in 2009, working his way up to d-line and linebackers coach. The New York Giants hired him to be their defensive line coach in 2016, spending two years there before going to Green Bay for the 2018 season. He served as the Miami Dolphins’ DC for 2019 under Brian Flores but returned to the Giants for the 2020 season.
The Giants are starting over with a new head coach and general manager, putting Graham’s future into question. However, he will reportedly interview for their head coach opening and is also willing to stay on as the team’s defensive coordinator.
Former Steelers’ DC Keith Butler announce his retirement yesterday. Assistant Teryl Austin is viewed as the favorite to replace him but Pittsburgh is doing their due diligence outside the organization. A 2020 expansion of the Rooney Rule also requires teams to interview at least one external minority candidate for coordinator positions and Graham would fulfill this rule (Update: A more recent update of the rule requires two external minority candidates to be interviewed).
Developing story.
