Raiders’ new coordinators complete a change in the franchise’s philosophy

By Case Keefer (contact)

Friday, March 11, 2022 | 11:40 a.m.

Don’t ask new Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham whether he plans to employ a 4-3 or 3-4 base defense.

He’s known as a devotee of the latter, but says the true answer is neither. Graham is a believer that, in the modern NFL, it’s more important to have five defensive backs on the field most of the time than to try to fit with traditional alignments.  

“To me, the 3-4, the 4-3 discussion is almost antiquated to be honest,” Graham said Friday in a virtual news conference on Zoom.

“Antiquated” is a word detractors used, fairly or unfairly, to describe some of the philosophies and approaches of the previous Raiders’ regime under former coach Jon Gruden. To put it in gentler terms, Gruden prioritized experience over all else when assembling his staff of assistants. 

That wasn’t always a negative, as Gruden’s hire of veteran defensive coordinator Gus Bradley last year paid off with the Raiders fielding their first competent stop unit in several years. But those who were critical of Gruden being stuck in his ways even before the e-mail scandal that eventually ended his tenure could find ammunition in those he chose to surround himself with.

New Raiders coach Josh McDaniels’ staff is quite a bit different. The list of 22 coaches the team formally announced earlier this week appears to include a more forward-thinking and creative group.

That starts at the top with Graham, offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi and special teams coordinator Tom McMahon, a trio that held introductory news conferences Friday morning at the Raiders' headquarters in Henderson.  

“I think part of putting together a staff is the continuity and chemistry that the group on either side of the ball will have with one another,” McDaniels said at last week’s NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. “So, I think personalities are important. Experience is important. Youthful ideas and things like that are important. And room for growth. I think we try to consider all of those things as we try to put it together.”

Both Graham and Lombardi fit more in the rising-but-unproven coaching category than the steady-but-retread mold Gruden gravitated towards. Graham is 43 years old with only three years of NFL experience as a defensive coordinator.

But he’s spoken highly of throughout the NFL, and new Giants coach Brian Daboll publicly expressed his desire to retain him at his introductory news conference in January. Graham also had other opportunities this offseason, including a head-coaching interview with the Vikings, but said working with McDaniels was the best fit.

“I have a lot of respect for Josh in terms of respecting his football mind, all the yards that he’s gained on me with me being a young coordinator and having gone against him a few times,” Graham said. “I’m really excited for this organization.”

Lombardi required a bigger leap of faith, as the Raiders will represent his first job as a coordinator and playcaller. At 33 years old, he arrives as one of the youngest coordinators in the league off a two-year stint as the Patriots' wide receivers coach.

McDaniels must have felt a familiarity and comfort with Lombardi, who broke into the NFL coaching ranks as a quality-control assistant under him with the Patriots in 2012. Like Graham, Lombardi said he prided himself on being progressive in an ever-evolving league.

“I think the biggest thing for me as I embark on this new opportunity is having the humility to say ‘I need to learn too,’” Lombardi said. “I need to grow and I’m open to doing anything that makes the team and helps the team win.”

Given Lombardi’s greenness, the Raiders’ offense might be the bigger unknown coming into next season as far as how it will look. Graham is expected to maintain many of the principles that brought success and acclaim to a Giants’ team that otherwise struggled the last two years.

Graham’s defenses are known for being a nightmare to prepare for because of his tendency to switch coverages and blitz from all angles.

“The complexity is probably more of an illusion of complexity,” Graham said. “Based on what you guys, the people looking at it and making comments about it being complex and seeing a bunch of coverages, honestly, if you think we’re going to be able to do that many coverages and be good at it, that’s going to be hard so it’s the illusion of being complex.”

There were few illusions necessary with Bradley’s defense last year. He believed in running his scheme and sticking to it, a strategy that often worked.

That’s not how Graham operates, and the more he talked on Friday, the more his differences from Bradley became pronounced. Bradley handpicked several of his own players that he had coached in the past, including six starters, to help turn around the Raiders’ defense next year.

Graham won’t follow suit and push new general manager Dave Ziegler to acquire players he coached with the Giants and at other various recent spots. He doesn’t think he needs that aid.

“Give us good players and we’ll be good to go and we’ll do our best,” Graham said. “The guys that are here, the guys that are going to be here, I’ll take those guys. I don’t need a requirement of guys from the past. We don’t need any of that. We just want good football players that buy into the team concept.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or