It’s debatable just how much of a secret weapon New York Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham is.
On one hand, he came in last season as a new addition that didn’t have a ton of fanfare around his hiring, but on the other, he quickly proved himself in the role and gained recognition around the league. Graham seems like one of the most likely coordinators in the league to end up with a head coaching job, even though right now, his focus is on his role with the Giants.
Despite that recognition that Graham has been getting after turning around the Giants defense, Bleacher Report still believes Graham is flying under the radar enough to take the title of ‘secret weapon’ for the Giants. The outlet listed a secret weapon for every NFL team, and for the Giants, it was Patrick Graham.
Graham helped transform a defense that ranked 25th overall and 30th in points allowed in 2019 into the league’s 12th-ranked overall defense and ninth-ranked scoring unit. While New York added a few pieces during the 2020 offseason, including James Bradberry, Kyler Fackrell and Blake Martinez, Graham made the the unit become a whole.
“Coach Graham is a very, very smart guy. I know he went to an Ivy League school too. His football knowledge, his football IQ, is above a lot of guys that I have been around,” Bradberry said, per Paul Schwartz of the New York Post.
Graham reportedly turned down the Jets head coaching job this offseason to continue with the Giants. The Giants will be lucky if the trend continues and Graham remains with the organization instead of taking an outside offer, but they have some things going in their favor.
According to Graham, who spoke on the decision after turning the Jets down, he did so because working with the Giants is his dream job.
Graham is definitely off to a good start with that job. This season, it’s reasonable to expect he may do even better with more experience in the role and a more normal offseason to help the team learn new plays and systems.