Steelers’ defensive coordinator hire comes with a catch that proves Mike McCarthy isn’t afraid to gamble as Pittsburgh’s head coach
The Steelers have their new defensive coordinator, but they are also adding a coach who brings a lot of questions.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have officially hired their defensive coordinator, and it’s a name you could see coming from a mile away. Patrick Graham, who most recently served as the defensive coordinator for the Las Vegas Raiders, will now be heading to Pittsburgh.
It’s a good sign for the Steelers when seeing who else they were considering for the job. However, one of the more questionable candidates seems to be coming to Pittsburgh alongside Graham in what is said to be a prominent role.
Steelers hire Patrick Graham as defensive coordinator
There had been rumblings that the Steelers would add Graham to their staff, as he was clearly one of the top candidates. Despite coaching the Las Vegas Raiders, where talent was scarce outside Maxx Crosby, he was still retained by the staff. For more on the move, here is Justin Churchill of A to Z Sports Las Vegas.
“No matter how bad the Raiders were in any of Graham’s seasons as defensive coordinator, his units always played much better than they were on paper. This is a guy who’s had some elite defenses and a guy who always gets the most out of his defenses. Two offseasons ago, many teams liked the job Graham did so much that he had a few head coaching interviews. Now, the Steelers are getting a guy who can be a top-five defensive coordinator in the league. It seems like McCarthy is putting together a pretty good staff, with Graham being the headliner.” – Churchill
Graham brings over a decade and a half of NFL experience and is familiar with McCarthy. He can command a locker room and bring the player-coach element to Pittsburgh that would be absent after Mike Tomlin’s resignation. However, who he brings with him may be a problem.
Jason Simmons joining the Steelers in prominent defensive role
Simmons last coached with the Commanders as their defensive pass game coordinator, and Washington struggled all season. Don’t believe me, here is A to Z Sports Washington’s Josh Taylor.
“Jason Simmons wouldn’t be a great hire and seems more like a legacy and familiar-face hire by McCarthy if that’s the route he takes. The Commanders’ passing defense struggled all season long and allowed the fifth-most passing yards in the NFL. Explosive plays on the backend were one of the biggest flaws on the defense, and we saw cornerback Mike Sainristil take a huge step back in his second season.
“It sounds like the Commanders want Daronte Jones to bring in his own staff as the new defensive coordinator, so Simmons coming back seems unlikely, and he has a clear path to join the Steelers, but that shouldn’t be the move for a defense that underperformed with the talent on the roster.” – Taylor
The bottom line is that the Steelers nailed the defensive coordinator hire, but the question is whether the assistants in Pittsburgh will live up to the billing. That much remains to be seen.
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