With a majority of the Pittsburgh Steelers fans already feeling discouraged after the Mike McCarthy hiring, the new head coach in town needs to get his coaching staff picks right. Just three members of the Steelers' 2025 coaching staff are reportedly returning to coach alongside McCarthy for the 2026 season, but there are vacancies at the most important positions.
Now one of these may have just been filled... but not with a candidate on fans' radar.
On Wednesday, Steelers insider Gerry Dulac reported that McCarthy is 'close to bringing in' Patrick Graham as his new defensive coordinator in Pittsburgh. Mike DeFabo of The Athletic confirms that Pittsburgh is bringing in Graham for an interview this week.
Teryl Austin held the previous DC job with the Steelers, and it's no surprise that he's not returning. But fans are already up in arms about this rumor.
A quick Google search and you'll notice that Graham's defenses have not been successful hardly anywhere he's been. Grahams has been a defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins, the New York Giants, and, most recently, the Las Vegas Raiders. But despite seven years as an NFL DC, his team has finished 23rd or worse in points allowed five times and 15th or worse in yards allowed five times.
Before serving as an NFL defensive coordinator, Graham worked as an assistant defensive coach for the New England Patriots for seven seasons.
In his two most recent years with the Raiders, Graham's defense had an average rank of 15th in yards allowed and 25th in points allowed—hardly making it one of the more threatening units in the league.
Fans were quick to take to social media to voice their frustration with this rumored looming Steelers hire... and it'snot hard to understand why.
Pittsburgh Steelers fans want Mike McCarthy to hire coordinators with proven track records
It hardly seems like a challenge to improve from defensive coordinator Teryl Austin. Fans have been calling for Austin's firing for the past two years, as the league's highest-paid defense continues to go downhill.
But one of the primary concerns with Austin before being promoted by the Steelers to DC in 2022 was his previous track record as an NFL defensive coordinator. During his four-year run with the Detroit Lions and one-year stint as DC of the Cincinnati Bengals, Austin only produced a top-16 defense once (all the way back in 2014).
The concerns are the same for a coach like Graham, who hasn't produced any top defenses with the Dolphins, Giants, and Raiders.
On a positive note, Graham is said to be very willing to adjust to the strengths of his defensive personnel. And to his credit, he hasn't had immensely talented defenses to work with. The Raiders were also 31st in defensive spending in 2025, which doesn't help their cause.
Still, you'll have to forgive us Steelers fans if we're hesitant about hiring another coordinator who didn't produce impressive results with their previous teams. Mike McCarthy doesn't call the defense, and fans know he can't afford to mess this up.