Former Seahawks coach Pete Carroll expected to fail in first Raiders season

The Seattle Seahawks had one last-place finish in the entire tenure of Pete Carroll. In 2021, they finished last in the NFC West, though they were still 7-10, which is far from a bad record. That was one of only three years the Carroll-led Seahawks missed the playoffs.

In one year with the Las Vegas Raiders, the head coach is predicted to equal his tally of last-place finishes with Seattle. Playing in a difficult division on a team that's been attempting to rebuild could make for a rocky year, at least according to Bleacher Report's Moe Moton.

In 2024, the Raiders went an astonishing 0-6 in the AFC West. This year, they should be more competitive against those teams under Carroll and with former Seahawks star Geno Smith, but they still lag behind the playoff teams in their division.

"The Silver and Black significantly upgraded their coaching staff, hiring head coach Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. They traded for two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Geno Smith. The team also drafted top running back Ashton Jeanty with the No. 6 overall pick," Moton admitted, saying that those additions mean Las Vegas can "hang with" some of the NFL's best.

However, the Raiders still have plenty more ground to make up to get their roster equivalent to the rest of the vaunted AFC, let alone in their own division. Even with promising weapons like Jack Bech, Brock Bowers, Jakobi Meyers, and Dont'e Thornton Jr., the coaching staff still has a ton to figure out.

"The Raiders have a mostly unproven secondary. They don't have a sure-fire starter at cornerback. Safety Isaiah Pola-Mao has to make more impact plays this year than he did as a first-year starter in 2024," Moton said. He also noted that Jeremy Chinn's slot reps suggest a hole at safety, too.

"In matchups against prolific passing attacks, Las Vegas could struggle to limit big plays and slow down opponents with dynamic receivers," Moton said. "The Raiders could win seven or eight games, yet still finish last in the AFC West." That's just the product of playing against Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, Sean Payton, Justin Herbert, and Jim Harbaugh twice a year.

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