By Wagner College Sports Information Desk
Wagner College’s ties to the NFL continue to make headlines as former Seahawk assistant coach Patrick Graham was named the New York Giants’ defensive coordinator.
Graham, who spent last season with the Miami Dolphins in the same role, is currently one of two former Wagner assistant coaches to hold a coordinator position in the NFL, along with Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo.
Graham instructed the Seahawk tight ends and assisted with the offensive line in 2002 and worked with the defensive tackles and assisted on special teams in 2003 under Walt Hameline‚who won more than 200 games in is Wagner head coaching career (1981-2014) and who has served as the Seahawks’ athletic director since 1982. Graham also coached the Seahawk junior varsity football team to an undefeated season while serving as strength and conditioning coach and academic coordinator.
“It’s exciting to see a former Wagner assistant coach like Patrick have continued success in the NFL,” said Hameline. “I’m proud of the growing connection between Wagner and the NFL and look forward to rooting for our former coaches and players every Sunday.”
The Waterbury, Conn., native is no stranger to Big Blue, having served as defensive line coach with the Giants in 2016 and 2017 under Ben McAdoo.
After spending seven years as an assistant coach at four different colleges, Graham joined the NFL with the Patriots in 2009 as a defensive coaching assistant. In 2010, his title was changed to defensive assistant coach before being elevated to linebackers coach. During his time with New England, he coached alongside new Giants head coach Joe Judge under Bill Belichick.
Graham was a defensive lineman at Yale University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 2002. His first coaching assignment was on Grymes Hill where he spent the 2002 and 2003 seasons as a graduate assistant while also studying for an MBA with a concentration in finance.
Wagner was also the only Northeast Conference (NEC) school with two active players in the NFL during the 2019-2020 season in Buffalo Bills linebacker Julian Stanford and Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackle Greg Senat. Now in his seventh year in the NFL, Stanford played in all 17 games for the Bills, recording nine tackles, including one stop in Buffalo’s postseason loss at Houston. Senat, a 6th-round draft choice by the Baltimore Ravens in 2018,was picked up by Kansas City earlier this season, but has not seen any game action so far this season.
Other NFL personnel with ties to the Seahawks include Philadelphia Eagles senior pro scout Matt Holland and Kansas City Chiefs Director of College Scouting Ryne Nutt.