Chargers won’t fall victim to Pete Carroll’s WWE antics that rile up Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh has a fierce rivalry with Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll for many reasons.

Of the many, one of those is the ability of the two men to completely revamp programs in a hurry. Harbaugh did it last year with the Chargers, going to the playoffs during a “rebuild” and then started this year with a win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Brazil.

Carroll, meanwhile, looks to have the Raiders on the same path after their 20-13 win over the New England Patriots in the season opener.

There, Carroll apparently used some WWE-like antics to fire up his guys, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport:

“According to those in the room, Carroll entered from the back like WWE superstar Jey Uso, walking through the players as if his theme music was going. He took his time, allowing tension to build. When it was time to start talking, he harped on the need to compete, especially focusing on the former Patriots in the room, considering there were so many.”

Carroll, turning 74 on Monday, then allegedly left a whiteboard “obliterated” in the wake of his performance.

One problem for the Raiders: That’s not going to work on the Chargers.

The Chargers are simply not the Patriots, a team that has gone 4-13 in back-to-back seasons. They beat the Raiders by 22-10 and 34-20 outcomes last year. Geno Smith has been a nice revelation for the Raiders, but this same Chargers defense just held Patrick Mahomes to one passing score and 21 points.

Even logistics play a part in the disparity. The Raiders played last Sunday. The Chargers have been off and resting for a little more than a week now after that Week 1, Friday opener overseas.

Maybe the real point is whatever Harbaugh magic he works behind the scenes doesn’t seem to get the national publicity like this. And maybe that’s by design. It would certainly seem to mesh with the more reserved personality of franchise star Justin Herbert.

Either way, the weird Raiders hype pregame won’t matter much under the primetime spotlights if Harbaugh’s Chargers go out and play their usual game.

Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh — Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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