Patrick Graham Has Been “Freed Up” to Play the Style of Defense He Wants

A lot has been going well for the Raiders since the departure of Josh McDaniels.

The defense, which was already the strength of the team, has only gotten better since McDaniels left the building and it sounds like a situation is evolving under interim HC Antonio Pierce where Patrick Graham is able to have more freedom in his role as defensive coordinator.

NFL Network’s Buddy Brooks talked about that dynamic this week on NFL Gameday…

“Patrick Graham has been freed up to play the kind if style that he wants to play. We’ve seen this defense get better and better [in] the seven games that AP has been in charge, and a lot of that was kind of coming into fruition anyway, but Antonio Pierce has given this team a lot of confidence while still maintaining the discipline and detail that you need.”

NFL GameDay on Twitter: “”He should be.”@BuckyBrooks thinks that Antonio Pierce should be the full-time coach of the @Raiders pic.twitter.com/I7WQkzyGzN / Twitter”

“He should be.”@BuckyBrooks thinks that Antonio Pierce should be the full-time coach of the @Raiders pic.twitter.com/I7WQkzyGzN

On Monday, it was Graham’s defense that carried the Raiders to a 20-14 road win over the Kansas City Chiefs, and it should be a top priority of the organization to keep Graham in the building beyond this season.

Graham has been mentioned as a head coaching candidate in the upcoming hiring cycle, but Pierce seems to have solidified himself as the favorite to get the job in Las Vegas.

It will be interesting to see if Graham gets any consideration from other teams after the phenomenal job he has done with the Raiders (who have one of the lowest defensive payrolls in the league) this season.

twitter: @raidersbeat