Patrick Graham is taking the Pittsburgh Steelers defense back to the late 1990s, but they’re not talking about the days of Jason Gildon and Levon Kirkland.
Rather, it’s hip-hop groups De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest and others that the defensive coordinator was breaking down with his players, many who were born in the new millennium.
“I have a weekly project. Every Thursday, somebody’s got to do a report on some old-school hip hop music,” said the 47-year-old Graham, sharing how spring workouts, to him, are about establishing communication.
“I’m letting them know who I am, so in turn they’ll feel comfortable talking to me.”
Why choose to focus on hip hop music from the 1990s and early 2000s?
“I’ve got to make sure it’s something I want to listen to,” Graham said with a laugh. “Stuff that I grew up with as a kid. Stuff I listened to before the games.”
The Steelers held the first of their 10 OTA workouts Monday and will return to the practice field Wednesday and Thursday at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.
“The immediate task is to get everyone on the same page with the vision we have defensively for the defense this year, starting with the building blocks,” Graham said. “This spring, communication is big. … (Getting) familiar with our terminology and how we’re going to speak to one another, so we can make sure we’re as efficient as possible in terms of our communication.”
Third-year pro Payton Wilson described Graham and his coaching staff as “very detailed,” particularly when teaching terminology. The inside linebacker said Graham has the players and coaches all speaking the same football language this spring.
“When they ask a question, we need to answer it with certain language,” Wilson said. “If not, it’s the wrong answer. … Just making sure everybody’s on the same page. I think he does a really, really good job of not assuming that people know.”
Communication – or lack thereof – was a persistent theme in recent years whenever the Steelers defense struggled. Communication issues in the secondary were blamed for a late-season slide in 2024, and miscommunications were evident at times again last year.
“To be a great defense, you’ve got to be able to communicate,” linebacker Alex Highsmith said. “You see times when we weren’t a good defense last year, it’s because we weren’t communicating like we should. For us, it’s all about communication – and the detail every single snap – and being consistent with that.”
Graham wasn’t interested in publicly analyzing any issues that occurred before he arrived, saying the league starts over every year. But he made clear that poor communication causes issues.
“When you’re trying to coordinate 11 people out there on that field plus the seven to nine coaches … communication has to be at the forefront of what you’re thinking about,” Graham said. “Because it’s different than the offense. We’re trying to defend that space behind us. We’ve got to be on the same page.”
Graham worked the past four seasons as the Raiders’ defensive coordinator after stints as an assistant with the Patriots, Giants, Packers and Dolphins. He said the key to establishing communication as a coach is convincing the players that you care about them.
“How do you show that you care?” Graham said. “In my opinion, you get to know them, and you have tolerance for first-time mistakes. For me, the communication part is getting them to open up and talk to you. One way we do it is to try to make sure they know about us and be vulnerable there.”
That was where the music projects came in useful. Graham on Tuesday named some of his favorite artists from the era of the Native Tongues hip hop collectives, calling the story of De La Soul especially “near and dear to my heart.” Black Sheep, Monie Love and Queen Latifah earned a mention by Graham, along with some later groups, including Outkast.
Graham admitted that sharing details about himself doesn’t always come easily, but communication takes work.
“That’s not my nature,” he said. “By nature, I’m more introverted, I would say. … I would be perfectly fine sitting in my office by myself watching tape.”