Raiders have foundation in place for an outstanding defense with or without a new coordinator

Updated Jan. 9, 2024 7:35 p.m. ET

Associated Press

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — If Raiders interim coach Antonio Pierce becomes the full-time coach, he might have to search for a defensive coordinator.

The AFC West rival Los Angeles Chargers have requested to interview Las Vegas coordinator Patrick Graham for their vacant head coaching job, according to NFL Network.

Graham oversaw a Raiders defense that went from 26th in points allowed in 2022 to ninth this season.

“He did an outstanding job this year,” Pierce said. "Nobody talks enough about what we’ve done defensively and the buy-in. This was probably a group last year that we didn’t buy into. You’ve seen the development of a lot of young players on our defensive side of the ball play really well — second-year players, rookies, undrafted guys, next-man-up mentality.”

If Graham returns as coordinator or someone else gets the job, that person will have a defensive structure in place designed for continued success. Most key defensive players are under contract for next season, with tackle Adam Butler and cornerback Amik Robertson two of the notable exceptions.

“I’ve got to give a ton of credit to Pat Graham," defensive end Maxx Crosby said. "Pat's done an incredible job. He's grown as a leader and as a coach as well. It's a testament to all the coaches. Everybody's bought in on improving. We put the work in every single day and you see it. We've become a top-10 defense like that (snapped his fingers).

“We've built a great foundation. We've just got to keep it going in the right direction.”

Crosby is the centerpiece of that foundation. He put himself in the conversation for AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year after getting a career-high 14 1/2 sacks, becoming the fifth defensive lineman since 2000 with at least 90 tackles and making a league-leading 23 tackles for loss.

Those are similar to last season's numbers when Crosby finished with 12 1/2 sacks, 89 tackles and a league-leading 22 tackles for loss.

Even with that production, the Raiders again are sitting home for the playoffs.

“I've been here five years,” Crosby said. “I've made the playoffs one time. I want to be in the playoffs consistently. I want to be in the biggest games. I'm going to keep doing what I do. I'm going to keep finding ways to improve every single day. I'm going to be better next year.”

Crosby was nearly a one-man gang in past seasons, but had a lot more help this time, which was underscored in Sunday's 27-14 victory over the Denver Broncos. The Raiders had five sacks by five players.

Malcolm Koonce had eight sacks for the season and Butler had five. Robert Spillane and Tre'von Moehrig each intercepted three passes, and late-season pickup Jack Jones had two pick-6s.

That kind of play helped the Raiders allow just 19.5 points per game, their lowest since allowing a 19.0 average in 2002 in their most recent Super Bowl appearance. The average this season since Pierce took over on Oct. 31 is 16.0, best in the league.

“I’ve had the most fun this year coaching this group of players that I had my whole career, plain and simple,” Graham said last week. “Not taking anything away from the guys I’ve coached before, but their growth, how they’ve improved, how they embraced myself and the coaches, the turmoil that we faced, and how they laid out there on the line for us. Starting with our leader, Maxx, from him to the rookie that has the least amount of playing time.”

GM SEARCH UPDATE

The Raiders are planning to interview former Chargers general manager Tom Telesco for the GM position.

Los Angeles went 84-92 under Telesco, who was the GM since 2013. He was fired along with coach Brandon Staley a day after the Chargers lost 63-21 to Las Vegas on Dec. 14.

Telesco is one of five external candidates expected to interview with the Raiders. The club also is considering elevating interim general manager Champ Kelly, who also could interview with the Carolina Panthers.

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