Tag: Patrick Graham

Giants’ latest choice for defensive coordinator a risky one

The New York Giants are expected to hire Patrick Graham as their next defensive coordinator, which could be a risky decision.

The New York Giants are set to hire Patrick Graham as their new defensive coordinator. He is another name from the Bill Belichick coaching tree who is a Yale graduate that spent seven years on Belichick’s staff between 2009-2016 in various roles coaching the defense.

In 2016, Giants incoming head coach Ben McAdoo brought Graham aboard to oversee the defensive line. When McAdoo was canned in 2017, Graham, like most of the staff, went with him.

In 2018, Graham worked as the Green Bay Packers linebackers coach before taking the defensive coordinator job in Miami last year under first-year head coach Brian Flores, another Belichick disciple.

Now, with Joe Judge at the helm here in New York, Graham has agreed to return, but he may not be what Giant fans were hoping for after two miserable years under James Bettcher.

From SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano:

Whether the 40-year-old is up to the job remains to be seen. Last year was his first as a defensive coordinator and the Dolphins finished 30th overall in team defense rankings. In fairness to him, he was handed a roster that many thought was set up for tanking for a high draft pick. It was young, underwhelming and usually out-manned.

The fact that Dolphins head coach Brian Flores had no issue letting the Giants poach Graham could be alarming. Or it could just be a sign of a young coach who wanted to head in a different direction.

Graham will be charged with further developing the Giants’ pass rush and coverage schemes. He will also have to simplify things so that the many young and inexperienced players on defense can forge some semblance of cohesion. Far too often in 2019, the defense looked confused and disorganized allowing big, backbreaking plays.

It will be up to Graham finally put the Giants’ defense back on the map. The good thing about Graham is that he’s never out of a job long. He’s respected around the league. But is he the answer here in New York?

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Giants to hire Patrick Graham as defensive coordinator: 5 things to know

The New York Giants will hire Patrick Graham as their next defensive coordinator, so here are five things you should know.

During the midst of the divisional round of the NFL Playoffs on Sunday, the New York Giants made an important hire to their coaching staff.

Joe Judge picked his defensive coordinator in Patrick Graham, who had been serving as the defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins.

Graham replaces James Bettcher, who served as the top defensive assistant for two seasons under previous head coach Pat Shurmur.

Graham is inheriting a defensive unit that ranked near the bottom of the league and has his work cut out for him.

Here are five things to know about the new Giants’ defensive coordinator.

Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports

Worked with Joe Judge previously

Part of why Judge is picking Graham as the defensive coordinator for the Giants is due to their time together with the New England Patriots.

Graham initially got to the Patriots back in 2009 as a coaching assistant before taking over as the linebackers coach in 2011.

Judge came to the Patriots in 2012 as a special teams assistant after spending several seasons with Alabama as a part of Nick Saban’s staff.

Judge and Graham worked together until the end of the 2015 season before Graham moved onto his next assignment, which ironically enough, was with the Giants.

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Giants hire Dolphins defensive coordinator Patrick Graham

Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Patrick Graham has been hired by the New York Giants to serve the same role.

The Miami Dolphins will officially have two brand new coordinators for the 2020 NFL season. It didn’t take long after the news was announced that the New York Giants were interested in interviewing Miami’s Patrick Graham for their vacant defensive coordinator for the other shoe to drop.

Graham is officially on his way to New York — and will leave the Dolphins with another prominent fresh face among the coaching staff. On the surface, losing Graham doesn’t seem to be a crippling blow for the Dolphins. Miami’s defense wasn’t highly coveted in any categories, which of course can also be directed at Miami’s lack of talent on their overall roster.

But one thing the league sees each and every year is that the Patriots’ coaching fraternity brings loyalty — most likely because these coaches know what they’re signing up for when heading to another Patriots’ disciple. Once the Giants announced they were hiring former Patriots special teams coordinator Joe Judge to their head coaching vacancy, the door was open for a change.

What makes Graham’s departure curious is that this is, at least on the surface for Graham, a lateral move — he’s taking the same position in the Giants that he had in New York, so why make a change. It’s hard to say, and it doesn’t seem like something we’ll get a ton of clarity on in the short-term. But what we do know is that Brian Flores’ presence likely meant his fingerprints were all over Miami’s defensive game plans — perhaps Graham felt New York was an opportunity that provided more power and say in how his defense prepares each week.

Miami is expected to elevate defensive backs coach Josh Boyer to take Graham’s place on staff.

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Report: Giants pass on Saints coach Aaron Glenn, hire Patrick Graham as DC

Joe Judge and the New York Giants passed on New Orleans Saints coach Aaron Glenn to hire Patrick Graham as their new defensive coordinator.

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It almost looked like the New Orleans Saints would lose another important piece of their coaching staff, but for now, defensive backs coach Aaron Glenn will remain in black and gold. The team already lost linebackers coach Mike Nolan to the Dallas Cowboys (where he’ll work as defensive coordinator beneath head coach Mike McCarthy), so this is some good news for Saints fans.

Glenn was one of two candidates reported to be considered for the open defensive coordinator job under first-year Giants head coach Joe Judge, along with Miami Dolphins coordinator Patrick Graham (who worked alongside Judge previously with the New England Patriots). However, Glenn will not even get to interview for the position.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that Graham would indeed be the new Giants defensive coordinator, having interviewed with Big Blue this weekend. The Dolphins intend to promote from within the organization, so it doesn’t appear Glenn will be jumping ship for Miami.

Continuity is important, and Glenn has done a good job helping scout, develop, and prepare a very young defensive secondary in his first few years on the job. Few groups have performed better around the league during his tenure. Considering their long list of pending free agents, the fewer organizational changes the Saints have to make this offseason, the better.

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Giants to hire Patrick Graham as new DC

The New York Giants are reportedly set to hire Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Patrick Graham as their next defensive coordinator for 2020.

It looks like Joe Judge has picked someone to run the defense of the New York Giants in 2020.

Less than 24 hours after the first reports came out of possible interest, the Giants appear set to tab Patrick Graham as their next defensive coordinator.

Graham is coming over from the Miami Dolphins, where he served as the defensive coordinator under Brian Flores. Both Flores and Graham were assistant coaches on the New England Patriots under Bill Belichick.

That same connection with Flores is what Graham had with Judge, as they too were both on the same staff on the Patriots under Belichick for several years.

Before running the defense in Miami, Graham spent two seasons as the Giants defensive line coach under Ben McAdoo from 2016-2017. After McAdoo’s staff was dismissed following the 2917 season, Graham spent one season with the Green Bay Packers as the linebackers coach and run game coordinator.

Graham replaces James Bettcher, who served as the Giants defensive coordinator over the last two seasons under Pat Shurmur, but was not expected back once Shurmur was dismissed on Black Monday.

Report: Saints coach Aaron Glenn being considered for Giants DC

New Orleans Saints secondary coach Aaron Glenn is reportedly being considered for New York Giants defensive coordinator under Joe Judge.

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The New Orleans Saints have already lost one important defensive assistant when the Dallas Cowboys hired away linebackers coach Mike Nolan, and New Orleans could risk losing another big part of their success in defensive backs coach Aaron Glenn.

Per a report from the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz, the New York Giants are considered Glenn for their open defensive coordinator position beneath first-year head coach Joe Judge. The Giants have already requested an interview with Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, so Glenn would be their second option.

Glenn’s role with the Saints has centered around helping scout and develop young defensive backs like Marshon Lattimore, Marcus Williams, Eli Apple, J.T. Gray, and Justin Hardee, much like Nolan did with the linebackers. Under Glenn’s tutelage, the Saints went on to field one of the league’s better secondaries in 2019, with Williams ranking among NFL leaders with four interceptions. His loss would be big, to say the least.

And other teams have tried to lure him away before. Last offseason, the Cincinnati Bengals requested an interview with Glenn, which the Saints blocked. No official request from the Giants has been filed just yet, but it’s very possible the Saints lose more assistants in the coming weeks as coaching staffs are built around the league.

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New York Giants request interview with Dolphins defensive coordinator

So much for that offseason of stability for the Miami Dolphins’ coaching staff. When the Miami Dolphins walked off the field at Gillette Stadium to end their 2019 season, the team seemed poised for an opportunity to run everything back for another …

So much for that offseason of stability for the Miami Dolphins’ coaching staff. When the Miami Dolphins walked off the field at Gillette Stadium to end their 2019 season, the team seemed poised for an opportunity to run everything back for another go in 2020 — but with a more talented roster. The football gods may well have other plans for Miami.

The Dolphins overachieved, but none of their coaches had their units performing so well that Miami should have expected someone to come knocking and poach their coaching staff of hires this offseason. But Brian Flores brought the first major change on his own accord, relieving offensive coordinator Chad O’Shea after the end of the season in a surprising decision.

And now, defensive coordinator Patrick Graham may be aligning to be elsewhere in 2020 as well.

The New York Giants surprised with their decision to hire Patriots special teams coordinator Joe Judge to their vacant head coaching position — yet another Patriots coach to get a head gig elsewhere. But that means Judge, like Flores, has familiarity with all former Patriots assistants. The Giants are running interference on Patrick Graham specifically and have requested to interview him for the vacant defensive coordinator position. That’s according to a report last night from the NFL Network.

It would be quite the surprise for Miami to exit a season and 5-11 in the first year under a new head coach and ultimately have both of their coordinator positions under new management the following season. Should it concern the Dolphins? Not particularly. Here’s why: continuity only matters when all the variables are stable. The Dolphins are going to have at least half of their roster in 2020 be brand new, newly acquired players. They’ll be getting coached by Miami and learning the Dolphins’ style for the first time anyway. So having a change at a key coaching position isn’t really going to be impactful because so many of the players are going to be fresh to the system no matter what.

And Brian Flores is still here — he’s the central piece that brought this team together the way that they did over the final 9 games of the season. So if Graham interviews in New York and decides it is a better fit, more power to him. The change won’t uproot Miami’s reclamation one bit.

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Giants seek to interview Patrick Graham for defensive coordinator position

The New York Giants have requested permission to interview Patrick Graham (Miami Dolphins) for their defensive coordinator position.

With Joe Judge now in place as the new head coach of the New York Giants, he’s looking to put together his staff for the 2020 season.

As a part of Judge’s upcoming staff, Thomas McGaughey will likely remain as the special teams coordinator. And now one name has emerged as the potential defensive coordinator, as the Giants have put in a request to interview Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.

With the Giants looking to speak to potential candidates for coordinator jobs, it’s more than likely that James Bettcher will not be retained as the team’s defensive coordinator.

Graham is the current defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins under Brian Flores. But before he was running the defense in Miami, he was also a former Giants assistant.

Graham was the defensive line coach for the Giants under Ben McAdoo from 2016-2017, but wasn’t retained once the Giants went with Pat Shurmur as their next head coach.

Judge and Graham were also assistants together when they were with the New England Patriots — Judge joined the Patriots staff in 2012, whereas Graham had been on Bill Belichick’s staff since 2009.

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