Two wins are not what anyone expected entering the 2025 NFL season for the Las Vegas Raiders. Pete Carroll was tabbed as the head coach who could at least steer the team to a .500 record or so and change the culture of the franchise.
That obviously hasn't happened. To be fair, few thought that quarterback Geno Smith would regress so rapidly, and Chip Kelly was viewed as the head coach in waiting once Carroll rode off into the retirement sunset. But somehow, somewhere, everything went wrong for the Silver and Black.
Now the calendar is about to flip to January, however, and the Raiders are on the cusp of searching for their third coach in as many years. The Raiders couldn't get Liam Coen or Ben Johnson last offseason, but there is one coach that they can still flirt with, assuming they move on from Carroll.
Raiders should kick the tires on Indiana HC Curt Cignetti
That guy is a two-time National Coach of the Year, has worked with legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban, and has won at a program that is used to losing on a consistent basis, just like the Raiders. I'm talking about Indiana's Curt Cignetti.
He's younger than Carroll by a decade and is responsible for the most consequential turnaround in college football history. When the season ends later this week, Raiders owner Mark Davis has a decision to make on Carroll.
Unlike the time period for college coaching changes, Davis can wait it out if he wants to snag Cignetti following their playoff run, which could theoretically last until January 19th. Cignetti, the industry's hottest name, took Indiana from 3-9 to 11 wins and a playoff berth in just one year.
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In 2025, he went up to Autzen Stadium and beat Oregon, which hadn't lost a home game in two years. Cignetti is the only person who can vouch that he slayed the unbeatable Ohio State Buckeyes and climbed the ranks to a spot that Indiana football has never been before.
Cignetti could even be a package deal with his Heisman-winning quarterback, Fernando Mendoza, so long as he declares for the NFL and the Raiders sew up the number one pick with another loss in Week 18 to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Winning a National Championship in such a short span for the duo would have owners like Davis wanting to make him the highest-paid coach in the game, regardless of an extension, age or lack of NFL experience.
In today's day and age of "Win now, or else," Cignetti is the face of that moniker. He resembles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh in a variety of ways. His cockiness is something that even Al Davis would have loved. Cignetti was born to be a Raider, and Al's son can make that a reality soon.