The dust is still settling from the Jaguars’ chaotic leadership changes last week, but new head coach Liam Coen must press along to put together his first staff of assistants.
Coen’s offensive expertise will make his defensive coordinator hire crucial to his success in Jacksonville. Raiders DC Patrick Graham, who interviewed twice for the Jaguars’ head coaching vacancy, is “a top candidate” for the DC job, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Graham’s second interview was a key piece of last week’s drama. The exact timeline remains unclear, but the Jaguars appear to have decided on Coen as their top choice before meeting with Graham in person, as needed to fulfill the Rooney Rule. That could cause tension with Graham if he believes that he was never under serious consideration to be the team’s next head coach.
Offering him the DC job could repair the relationship, especially if the Raiders don’t retain Graham after hiring Pete Carroll as head coach. Las Vegas has yet to announce any additional changes to last year’s staff, though at least a few can be expected with the regime change.
The Jaguars were one of the worst defenses in the NFL last year, allowing the second-most points and fifth-most yards with a league-low nine takeaways. The job has some appeal, with a solid, young quartet of Travon Walker, Josh Allen, Foyesade Oluokun and Devin Lloyd in the front seven, but Graham would have to do some serious work in the passing game. The Jaguars allowed a league-high 4,375 passing yards in 2024 and lack any elite players in the secondary. In addition to a new defensive coordinator, Jacksonville will need to invest in defensive back talent this offseason.
Graham’s defensive schemes are very in depth and have a lot of moving parts. The defense won’t be improved overnight. Spagnola is similar in that regard. I recall several Giants players saying at first they were lost but as they progressed and studied hard it worked like clockwork.
Flores is being villified, but it sure looks like teams decided it’s ok to openly skirt the Rooney Rule this year.