Even as the Chicago Bears continue to conduct interviews with both GM and head coach candidates, their lists seem to grow with each passing day. George McCaskey and his search team appear determined to speak with every viable name they can to get a true measure of the best options on the market. One name that hasn’t gotten any looks from other teams thus far despite several experts saying he should is Patrick Graham.
The former New York Giants defensive coordinator is highly respected in league circles. Many consider him one of the best assistant coaches out there. Somebody that got the absolute most out of what he had in New York despite the team’s struggles. At one point this past season, the Giants allowed 20 points or less in five of six games. Unfortunately, the ineptitude of their offense made sustaining that impossible.
With the fallout of the coaching staff getting fired, Graham is left seeking a new job.
By the sound of it, he’s aiming high. According to Jeff Hughes of Da Bears Blog who has been on top of the search from the beginning, the 42-year old has had eyes for the Bears head coaching job since the end of the 2020 season. Had Matt Nagy been fired back then, he would’ve pursued the opening. Now with the job available, it sounds like Graham is prepared to do just that. With the team interested in a meeting as well.
Des Plaines native / former Giants DC Patrick Graham was rumored to be circling the Bears job were it to have opened a year ago. (And he would have been a hot contender.)
I expect to hear his name in the coming days.
— DaBearsBlog (@dabearsblog) January 18, 2022
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Graham was born in Des Plaines, Illinois back in January of 1979. So he has roots in the region. He graduated from Yale with a degree in sociology before entering the coaching ranks in 2002. He kicked around the college level for seven years until the New England Patriots took notice of him. They brought him in as a coaching assistant in 2009. From there he rose through the ranks until he became their linebackers coach in 2014. The same year they’d win their fourth Super Bowl title.
Patrick Graham kept gathering experience from there
He first joined the Giants in 2016 as their defensive line coach. Then he took the same job with the Green Bay Packers in 2018. Miami hired him as their defensive coordinator a year later but he left after just one season, taking the same job back in New York. It was an odd decision at the time but later reports surfaced that Graham viewed the Giants defensive coordinator position as a dream job. It also came with a slight promotion in the form of assistant head coach.
It seems the decision did the job he hoped it would. To an extent. It got him noticed on the national stage. Teams are interested in meeting him about their head coaching positions. The Bears are one of them. However, there is an interesting subplot to this Patrick Graham idea. A recent report from Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports suggests Chicago is “smitten” with former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores. He was the one who hired Graham as defensive coordinator in Miami three years ago. The two have a relationship going back years.
Could the Bears be vetting a potential new defensive coordinator?
Just something to keep in mind if and when this interview takes place. Graham has many supporters around the league. People that feel it is only a matter of time before he is running his own team. It comes down to somebody giving him a chance. It is nice to hear the Bears are willing to meet with him. This would make the young coach the sixth candidate of minority origin. Proof they are determined the find the best head coach regardless of background, race, or anything else.
