The Las Vegas Raiders had had enough of the Pete Carroll experiment after one season, though his 3-14 campaign in the 2025 season was eventually rewarded with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
It seems likely that either Indiana's Fernando Mendoza or Oregon's Dante Moore will be in the Silver and Black next April. Even though one of these saviors will likely be coming to town, they will not be able to get back on the right track unless John Spytek hires the right head coach.
While the Raiders do seem like a spot for a prospective newcomer to make a name for themselves due to the ability to remake the roster, NFL.com's Judy Battista thinks this franchise is a proverbial cesspool. She ranked the Raiders as the worst of the seven currently vacant head coaching spots.
NFL.com ranks Raiders' head coach vacancy as worst in the NFL
The Raiders may have one of the worst rosters in the league, if not the worst, and ownership isn't amazing. However, from a football perspective, the ingredients for a turnaround are all right there if Las Vegas brings the right guy in.
Las Vegas has more projected cap space than all but two teams in the league, which could help them bounce back from last year's struggles. Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty look like core pieces, and the defense still has a great leader in Maxx Crosby (for now).
There is no asset a prospective coach would love more than the No. 1 pick, and the Raiders have that. Comparing this unfavorably to the cash-strapped Browns, a Falcons team with minimal draft capital and quarterback issues, and a Cardinals squad that is lightyears from contention is not very fair.
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While the Raiders do have the misfortune of playing in what is arguably the best division in football, which could make things difficult for a coach who wants to hit the ground running in Year 1, someone is going to jump at the opportunity to rebuild a team with this slew of future assets in their war chest.
If either Mendoza or Moore is as good as they are supposed to be, and the free agency spending spree is allocated to the right players, the Raiders can get up off the mat. 2025 was painful, but that doesn't mean that negativity should carry over into next year.