The Biggest Reason Why Pete Carroll Failed With the Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders have struggled to find head coaching stability since before their move to Las Vegas. It's consistently been a problem for them to find the right guy to lead their franchise, and they carry that problem with them into 2025.

A year ago, they hired Pete Carroll to bring a winning culture to the Raiders, with all his years of expertise. Instead, all he gave Raider Nation was mediocrity and misery. This will likely be the last time we see Carroll on an NFL sideline as a head coach, but what went so wrong?

Failing To Adapt

One of the biggest moves Carroll made in his tenure as the Raiders head coach was trading for Geno Smith with the Seattle Seahawks. These two have a ton of history together, so it made sense why Carroll would want to reunite with his preferred quarterback.

However, even Seahawks fans would tell you that in his final year with the team, he wasn't the same Smith who didn't write back. His timing and accuracy weren't the same, and most damning of all, his decision-making was shot. It's telling that he would lead the NFL in interceptions this season, as the writing was on the wall that he wasn't the same tier of player as he was in 2022.

The biggest reason why Carroll wasn't able to succeed with the Raiders is that he was stuck in his own ways. He stubbornly started Smith every game he could and refused to even give his younger players a chance to prove themselves. That stubbornness could be seen in his personnel hires as well.

The Raiders' offensive line was putrid this season, and you will never guess who was in charge of it. Brennan Carroll, similar to his father, refused to give their rookies any playing time, and it resulted in the same players getting the same playing time. Any other reasonable coaching staff would've made adjustments, but this was Carroll's version of the Raiders; adjustments didn't exist.

That's not entirely true. Chip Kelly made sure to adjust Ashton Jeanty's pre-snap stance, and then decided to change it again. Kelly wasn't a good offensive coordinator either, but he was just a scapegoat for what was a larger problem.

The Raiders brought the oldest head coach in the NFL out of retirement and expected him to breathe new life into their franchise. That's where they went wrong, and it makes sense why Carroll was so stubborn.

They gave him full control of the team in its entirety, and the results speak for themselves. For their sake, I hope they can get someone new who pushes this team towards the future, instead of holding them back.

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