Las Vegas Raiders Hire Pete Carroll, Former Seattle Seahawks Coach Returns to NFL

The Las Vegas Raiders are hiring Pete Carroll as the franchise's next head coach. The former USC Trojans and Seattle Seahawks coach has won a national championship in college and a Super Bowl in the NFL.
According to Adam Schefter, Carroll's contract with the Raiders is three years, with a team option for the fourth year. At 73 years old, Carroll is the oldest coach in the NFL. He will turn 74 in September, and his contract has him coaching until he's 77.
Carroll was scheduled to teach a leadership course at USC in the Spring semester, with students like basketball star JuJu Watkins and recent five-star defensive line signee Jahkeem Stewart.
Carroll coached in Seattle for 14 years, winning a Super Bowl in the NFL and a national championship in college. At USC, Carroll coached three Heisman Trophy winners in quarterback Matt Leinart, quarterback Carson Palmer, and running back Reggie Bush.
He parted ways with the Seahawks after the 2023 season, and he will be returning to the NFL sideline in 2025.
The involvement of Tom Brady in the Raiders' coaching search was the cause of some controversy, due to Brady's presence in the broadcast booth with FOX. The legendary quarterback was reportedly recruited candidates to interview, like Chicago's Ben Johnson, before Carroll was hired.
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Las Vegas fired coach Antonio Pierce and general manager Tom Telesco after the Raiders finished the season 4-13.
Now, Carroll joins an AFC West which features some legendary coaches: Kansas City Chiefs' Andy Reid, Los Angeles Chargers' Jim Harbaugh, and Denver Broncos' Sean Payton.
The former USC coach will have his hands full defending Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes, Los Angeles' Justin Herbert, and Denver's Bo Nix.
The four AFC West head coaches—Andy Reid, Jim Harbaugh, Sean Payton, and Pete Carroll—now have a combined 20 Conference Championship appearances and nine Super Bowl appearances. https://t.co/t0myQXaeI6
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 24, 2025
The Dallas Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones were reportedly interested in hiring Carroll as their coach, but the Super Bowl champion has landed in Las Vegas. After moving on from Mike McCarthy, the Cowboys are still looking to fill a vacancy.
The Raiders are one of five teams to hire a new coach this offseason: the Patriots hired Mike Vrabel, the Bears hired Ben Johnson, the Jets hired Aaron Glenn, and the Jaguars hired Liam Coen.
Only the Cowboys and the New Orleans Saints are still waiting to find their future coach.
Before landing on Carroll, Las Vegas had already hired John Spytek as their next general manager. Spytek was an assistant general manager with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and he overlapped with Brady during the final years of the quarterback's career.
Spytek and the Raiders have the No. 6 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, and they are rumored to be interested in a quarterback. Will Carroll draft his quarterback for the future?
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