For the first time in nearly 20 years, the Pittsburgh Steelers will have someone new leading their defense. Mike Tomlin has stepped away, and while the Steelers have had several defensive coordinators during his time as head coach, this is truly a new era of Steelers football. Tomlin always had a big hand in designing the defense, as well as calling plays in specific situations, but now that job will be handed to Patrick Graham.
Mike McCarthy has been a hands-off head coach when it comes to the defensive side of the ball, usually allowing his defensive coordinator to run the show. That was especially true when he had a veteran coach on that side of the ball, such as Dan Quinn or Mike Zimmer.
Now, Graham will be responsible for modernizing the Steelers’ defense. And for the first time in his career, he has the personnel to create a dominating unit.
Pittsburgh Steelers DC Patrick Graham could be a highly sought-after coach in 2027
In a recent article by Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic, she wrote about one assistant coach from every team who could break out during the 2026 season. For the Steelers, that was none other than Graham. Here is a snippet as to why Rodrigue believes Graham could be in for a huge season in Pittsburgh:
"That Graham, one of the more respected assistants in the NFL, with a schematic arsenal he didn’t get to use all that much as the DC of the embattled Raiders, took over a high-ceiling defense full of veteran players in Pittsburgh was one of the most underrated and exciting moves of the offseason. Graham has drawn interest for head coaching vacancies in the past, so perhaps he’s not technically a “breakout” candidate — but a fresh reset in Pittsburgh could be huge."
Graham has been a defensive coordinator for seven years in the NFL, and he’s coached two top-10 defenses (2020, 2023). However, the concern is that his defenses have finished outside the top 22 in points per game in the other five seasons. During his last two seasons with the Raiders, they finished 25th in points allowed per game in back-to-back seasons.
Part of that could be due to a talent issue rather than a skill issue. The Raiders were always in the middle of the pack in terms of spending on offense, and they’ve used a considerable number of resources on offense compared to the defense. But going into the 2026 season, no team is spending more money on defense than the Pittsburgh Steelers ($195 million), according to OverTheCap.
Graham has never been a part of a defense with this much talent and this many pass rushers. We’ve seen his defense perform extremely well when he has two quality pass rushers, and now, he’ll have three with T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig. That doesn't even include Cameron Heyward, who is easily the best defensive tackle Graham has ever coached.
Time will tell if Graham can get back into the head coaching circle and receive more interviews, but everything sets up well for him to become a household name after the 2026 season. If he can modernize this defense and make it harder to gameplan against, there is no reason Pittsburgh can’t have one of the top units in the league. If that happens, expect Graham to be one of the league’s hottest names next offseason.
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