PITTSBURGH -- Nick Herbig grinned slyly as he deflected the question.
What wrinkles, exactly, were part of the Pittsburgh Steelers' defense under new coordinator Patrick Graham? How would the linebackers be used?
"I can't give you all the sauce," the pass rusher said, chuckling. "It's definitely challenging for not just linebackers, it's the whole defense, really testing your football IQ, your football knowledge, knowing where everybody's at so we can play as a unit."
Aided by legendary defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, who bridged the organization's transition from head coaches Bill Cowher to Mike Tomlin, Tomlin put his stamp on the Steelers' defense for the better part of two decades. The Steelers finished top-five in scoring defense four times in Tomlin's first five seasons in the NFL, but in the past 12 seasons of Tomlin's tenure, the Steelers finished in the top five just twice (2019 and 2020). The Steelers also haven't finished in the top five in sacks since 2021.
With Tomlin's January resignation, the unit is in the middle of its next, necessary evolution under Graham. That means trusting Graham and his infusion of fresh ideas, while also finding ways to maintain the Steelers' defensive identity and tradition.
"You embrace the change," longtime defensive leader Cameron Heyward said. "There are things that you want to say the same, but you have to be willing to put your ego aside and do what's best for the group. It's not just young players, some coaches too, that still have to learn, and we just want to be an olive branch to that."
Graham understands everything that comes with taking over the Steelers' defense, and he explained his vision and how he plans to implement it in broad strokes earlier in the offseason. First, he said, he'll narrow down the scheme for early downs, and once the unit excels in those fundamentals to force offenses behind the sticks, then he'll unleash "the fun stuff."
"That's where the imagination goes wild," he said of second-and-long or third-down situations. "... But really, I'm not going to try to venture too far off from what this city has been known for. Earning our place in that tradition, we've got to play hard-nosed, physical football. We have to have an intimidating play style."
Like coach Mike McCarthy's offense, Graham's defense stresses versatility and having interchangeable pieces. As the defensive coordinator with the Las Vegas Raiders, Graham moved premier pass rusher Maxx Crosby around. Though Crosby still spent the bulk of his time (692 snaps) at left end and recorded nine sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception from there, he also played 140 snaps at right end and notched one sack and five tackles for loss.
"My job when I was there was to free [Crosby] up," Graham said. "... There are definitely guys here; there are some really good football players here. It's our job collectively to find ways to let them be themselves and make plays."
One way to do that in Pittsburgh is by moving pass rusher T.J. Watt around -- seriously, this time. A year ago, Watt and former defensive coordinator Teryl Austin preached the need for Watt to vary his pre-snap location to be more effective. That never really materialized during the season. Watt played 94% of his defensive snaps at left outside linebacker, and each of his 19 quarterback hits, two interceptions and seven sacks came from that spot. He lined up at other spots -- left slot, wide left, left defensive tackle, left inside linebacker, right outside linebacker -- where he combined for 45 snaps and recorded one tackle for loss, a fumble recovery and four total tackles.
"In the past it was a little bit more of me being stubborn, and I think this new system allows -- a lot of it's built in, so I really can't say no," Watt said of moving around. "I have to move with it. A lot of us are interchangeable parts. You're not just learning your position. You kind of have to learn the whole defensive front structure, because we all are basically interchangeable. We can do different things. I think you're going to see a lot more movement out of not just me, but the whole front."
That versatility extends to the secondary, too.
A year ago, the NFL's highest-paid defense consistently struggled to defend the deep ball, even after midseason adjustments. From Week 9 on, no team allowed a higher completion rate on passes at least 20 yards downfield (61%). That completion percentage also coincided with Jalen Ramsey's move to safety. After shifting him from splitting snaps at outside and slot corner to a primary safety role, the Steelers allowed six touchdowns on passes of at least 20 yards downfield. But Graham and his staff still see immense value in Ramsey and compared him to Hall of Fame defensive back Charles Woodson.
"The way we used Charles Woodson in Green Bay, he played the star. He played corner. He played safety. He played the money. He did all of those things," secondary coach and assistant head coach Joe Whitt Jr. said. "Charles could do it all in one game. He's one of the rare guys that can do it. Jalen has a similar skill set, similar size, similar speed. I'm just excited to see how we work with him and the way we use him."
Because of all the moving pieces across the defense, the Steelers' offseason program has revolved around nailing down the vocabulary for the scheme, studying the playbook and installing the plays with numerous on-field walk-throughs.
"We're really just trying to absorb it each day, put ourselves in different situations," Heyward said. "It might not be the same lingo, but it's the same things we've done in the past. So just trying to marry the two."
That fusion of new and old extends to the core principles of the Steelers' defense: the 3-4 base structure and the unit's attitude. Neither are changing, Graham said, but he's tasked with finding ways to make the unit more consistently effective.
"There's lofty goals there in terms of the teams that have come before us, all the great coaches that have been here before and just trying to earn our place in this tradition," Graham said during May OTAs, invoking the organization's signature Steel Curtain reputation.
"And I know this: We're far away from that by any stretch of the imagination right now, but we just got to work hard, put in the work, build day by day and go from there. But I would anticipate physical, playing fast, getting the ball off the offense and doing it consistently."
