Mike McCarthy’s latest tweak to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense is simple on the surface: Patrick Graham spent the win over the Indianapolis Colts on the sideline instead of in the booth.
That shift gave players a more direct line to the coordinator during the Steelers’ 34-22 victory, letting them sort through adjustments face-to-face with the person calling the defense. Graham had handled the first four regular-season games from upstairs, while assistant head coach and secondary coach Joe Whitt Jr. was already working from the field.
The move didn’t come out of nowhere. The Week 4 broadcast against the Cleveland Browns caught T.J.
Watt in what looked like a heated headset exchange with Graham, though Graham later said it was just normal football communication. That moment may have nudged McCarthy toward something he had already been weighing.
“There’s nothing better than face-to-face communication,” McCarthy said afterward. He pointed to the Green Bay preseason game as part of the reason for the change, said he hadn’t polled the players about it, and made clear the setup could still change again.
There’s a real upside to having Graham down on the sideline. He can hear the whole position group work through an adjustment in real time, and players may find it easier to follow up when the coach is standing right there. Keeping Graham next to Whitt also gives the defense two experienced voices in the same area, which can help settle disagreements on coverage assignments before the next snap.
But the tradeoff is just as obvious. Graham loses the wider view from above, the one that helps him spot offensive personnel early and sort through his call sheet.
That was a big reason he preferred the booth in the first place. In August, he explained that Whitt, defensive pass-game coordinator Jason Simmons, and inside linebackers coach Scott McCurley handled the communication to players below while he stayed locked in on his calls.
That early personnel read matters. If the offense sends out a second tight end, Graham may want to answer with another linebacker or keep an extra defensive back on the field. Two tight ends don’t automatically mean run, but spotting the package quickly helps him preserve options before the play develops.
The new arrangement also means Graham will lean more on his assistants’ eyes, whether they’re upstairs or on the sideline. Their observations still have to get to him while he’s talking through adjustments with the defense.
The sideline setup could help solve one problem but leave another untouched. If there’s a disagreement over coverage between series, Graham can hear both defenders explain what they saw and make sure everyone is on the same page.
What it can’t do is replace the practice reps that teach players how the secondary reacts together. Jalen Ramsey recently called for those shared reps so new teammates could learn the unit’s terminology on the field.
That’s where the real test of this change lives: whether it cuts down on repeated mistakes after adjustments and reduces late clarifications before the snap. McCarthy said he’d keep evaluating it, but his explanation didn’t point to any clear success story yet.
There’s also a hidden drawback that comes with being closer to the action. A replacement coming into the game may miss a correction delivered to the starter between possessions. If Graham changes a coverage check with one corner and the next corner in the rotation doesn’t get that same information, the defense can still be vulnerable even if the first player executed the call perfectly.
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