BREAKING: Raiders DC Graham to Interview For Lateral Bengals Move

Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham is one of the best in the league, and the Cincinnati Bengals want to snag him.

Las Vegas Raiders DC Patrick Graham / Darrell Craig Harris, Sports Illustrated

Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham has a plethora of experience and his genius as a coordinator has been getting more attention throughout the league. He has become a hot commodity in this hiring cycle for a head coaching position.

Per NFL insider Tom Pelissero, Graham is to be interviewed on Tuesday by the Cincinnati Bengals not for a head coaching job, but a lateral move to be their defensive coordinator. Because Graham's contract with the Silver and Black is up, he can interview for defensive coordinator jobs.

The Bengals had an abysmal season in 2024, considering the high expectations placed on the team and franchise quarterback Joe Burrow. Some had the Bengals tabbed as a Super Bowl contender, as well as a favorite -- Sports Illustrated's Conor Orr picked Cincinnati to win the whole thing.

Instead, the Bengals finished narrowly missing the playoffs with a 9-8 record and Burrow's incredible season of MVP numbers was wasted. The defense was particularly abysmal, finishing 25th in both yards and points.

Graham was able to unlock the Raiders defense in 2024 while his players were ravaged by injuries and the youth movement had to take effect. Despite those obstacles, Graham was able to get the most out of young talent like Tyree Wilson, Jakorian Bennett, and Isaiah Pola-Mao.

"It's a young person's league anyway," he told reporters before the season finale against the Los Angeles Chargers. "Whether it's players or coaches, as you get older you get more expensive so they're always trying to replace you with younger players. That's how the rosters are constructed. The young players are going to play, especially in a collision sport like this. But it's always valuable because those guys are hungry for the information. All my older players that I've had are really good players. They're always hungry for information.

"But when you're green and young like that, you want the information, you're listening to everything the coaches are saying to you, you're gathering information from your experiences out there on the field. And it's always good to see that. It's always good to see that. And then the fact that they can stack it, like, okay, can you learn from your mistake and can you stack it and not get got on that again. That's always encouraging there. That's why that 1 Robber clip for Harp [Thomas Harper] was so big in my opinion, that was a good play."

Graham is also a candidate for the Jacksonville Jaguars' head coaching vacancy.

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