With experienced, championship-winning coaches like Andy Reid, Sean Payton and Jim Harbaugh taking up six games on the schedule every year, it made no sense for a first-timer to be at the helm of the Las Vegas Raiders.
That is why owner Mark Davis made a necessary upgrade this offseason and replaced head coach Antonio Pierce with Pete Carroll. It may have taken a four-win season for Davis to realize this mistake, but the team is now better situated than ever to compete in the AFC West.
Carroll's age was certainly called into question upon being hired in Las Vegas, but experience is the best teacher. In fact, he has already coached a total of 21 games against the aforementioned three leaders during his NFL career, so he knows exactly what he is getting himself into.
Pete Carroll's record vs. the AFC West's current coaches
After 18 years as an NFL head coach, Carroll has racked up a career winning percentage of 58.6%, including a 60.6% mark while with the Seattle Seahawks. Below is a table of how he has fared against each of the AFC West's three other coaches during the regular and postseason.
Jim Harbaugh | Sean Payton | Andy Reid | |
|---|---|---|---|
Regular season | 4-4 | 1-4 | 2-3 |
Postseason | 1-0 | 2-0 | N/A |
All told, this 10-11 overall record is an indicator that epic battles will be had in the division this season. Carroll's first matchup against Reid took place in 1999 as the head coach of the New England Patriots, but he played Payton as recently as 2021 when he was in Seattle.
RELATED: Raiders' minicamp starters have Pete Carroll's fingerprints all over them
His 3-0 playoff record against Payton and Harbaugh is also something to marvel at, as it seems that Carroll can come through for his team when they need him most. Obviously, the Raiders are a different situation for the 73-year-old, but he is approaching things just the same in Las Vegas.
The Raiders will kick off their divisional slate in Week 2 on Monday Night Football at home against the Chargers. Then, they'll play Week 7 and 10 games on the road against the Chiefs and Broncos, respectively, before playing rematches in Weeks 13, 14 and 18.
It was no secret that the AFC West was going to be perhaps the league's most exciting division headed into the 2025 NFL season. However, looking at Carroll's career records against each of these three great coaches further ingrains the fact that the margins will be razor-thin this season.