Sleeper Candidate for Atlanta Falcons Vacant DC Job
With the firing of Jimmy Lake, the Atlanta Falcons find themselves in need of a defensive coordinator to take the team back to the playoffs. For a team that fell just-one-game short of the postseason, the defense needs to take the lion's share of the blame.
Luckily, after Black Monday, several coaches found themselves needing a new job. While they didn't work well as head coaches or coordinators in other spots, the Falcons would most certainly benefit from hearing a new voice.
The Falcons defense did not suffer completely from a talent issue. The scheme and the lack of buy-in because of a perceived flaw in the design hurt the ball club.
Patrick Graham
Graham needed an award just to survive the mess in Las Vegas created by bad management and subpar drafting. His scheme helped a woefully undermanned Raiders team stay relatively competitive in games when they should not have.
In 51 games as the Raiders defensive coordinator, the offense scored 20 or less points 33 times, including Atlanta's 15-9 win over the Raiders on December 17th, marking the end of the Kirk Cousins era.
The hallmark of Graham's defense is unorthodox pressure. Yes, he will send four rushers, but they could get there from any of the three levels.
That confusion makes quarterbacks pause and think about where the pressure comes from. Also, like a zone blitz of sorts, but the pre-snap location isn't the same. Meaning you could see multiple blitzers as well. By placing five or six defenders on the line of scrimmage, teams may change blocking assignments with first look, only to leave a free rusher.
In addition, Graham wholeheartedly believes in fitting the scheme to the players and not vice versa. His defenses do not truly fit into classic 3-4, 4-3, 4-2-5 verbiage as any of those schemes could be the initial look, only to morph into another one.
Graham enjoyed defensive success in Las Vegas. Plus, he derives a great deal of his approach from his old boss, Bill Belichick. The future Hall of Famer talked to Graham about adaptability. Teams will not see the same gameplan two weeks in a row, as he designs the gameplan to individually fit the opponents.
At the same time, Graham takes a page from another old boss, Chiefs' defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. Spagnuolo hired Graham in 2016, when he served as the Giants’ defensive coordinator. While Spagnuolo used heavy dime coverages and blitz packages, Graham tries the same with a base nickel.
Graham is well thought of around the league and is getting head coach interviews this cycle.
Overview
The Atlanta Falcons employed the talent to make the playoffs in 2024. The defensive design let the team down, as it lost game after game against teams they should defeat.
Now, Raheem Morris can repair those holes in the defensive with the hiring of Patrick Graham. Graham will see what the team currently has and what they will bring in and craft a scheme that doesn't require the team to win shootouts.