Maxx Crosby Sent Classy Message to Pete Carroll After Raiders Fire HC

Kristen Wong | Jan 6, 2026

Raiders star pass-rusher Maxx Crosby opened up on seeing Pete Carroll get let go by the organization after the 2025 season. / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Raiders star pass-rusher Maxx Crosby has seen quite a few coaches come and go during his time with the organization, so news of Pete Carroll's firing on Black Monday may not have come as a huge surprise.

Even so, Crosby admitted he was torn up about Carroll's exit just a year into his once highly anticipated tenure in Las Vegas. Crosby said he hadn't spoken to his ex-coach since Week 18's season finale win over the Chiefs but planned to get in touch with him soon.

"I really haven't had time to process it, to be honest. I just found out," Crosby said on the Let's Go podcast with Peter King and Jim Gray (around the 23:00 mark). "I'm here in the building and literally see it pop up on the TV. So it's kind of gloomy, I would say. It's something that I've been a part of before, but just to speak on Pete, this season didn't go the way we expected it at all."

The Raiders went from a hopeful organization filled with new faces in Carroll and quarterback Geno Smith to an underachieving team competing for the No. 1 pick by the season's end. In Carroll's debut year, they went 3-14 and finished dead last in the AFC West for the second straight campaign. They also finished with an ugly -191 point differential, which was worse than the year before.

Maxx Crosby only played under Pete Carroll for one season on the Raiders before Carroll got fired by the organization following a 3-14 campaign. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Disappointment may have been the theme of the Raiders' 2025 season (and their last two decades), but Crosby still holds Carroll in high regard.

"The one thing I did admire about Pete is he's as consistent as they come," continued Crosby. "He's won for such a long time, he's a Super Bowl champion, he won a national championship at USC, he's been an incredible coach and had an incredible journey. Unfortunately this thing didn't work out the way we expected it, but he's done an incredible job and had an incredible career.

"He was always awesome to me, still going to have that relationship regardless. Had a lot of coaches in my time, to say the least, but all of those coaches you taking something from them, you learn something from them. ... Wish him the best. He was always incredible to me and treated me amazing. Big shoutout to Coach Pete, and we'll see what happens next."

Crosby also spoke about his knee injury that kept him out of the Raiders' final two games and said he was "hoping" he didn't need to get surgery. He plans to fly to Los Angeles this week for an appointment with famed sports surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache.

Crosby is coming off his seventh season in Las Vegas, earning five Pro Bowl nods and making the playoffs once during that span. Raiders general manager John Spytek didn't say the defensive star was "untouchable" in potential trade talks, but for the time being Crosby appears to be an integral member of the organization moving forward.

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