The Las Vegas Raiders desperately need to rebuild after the 2025 NFL season. A close Week 16 loss against the Houston Texans doesn't change that fact. Yes, there were several strong outings from the Raiders' promising young players, but Las Vegas simply needs more talent than it has in the building.
With the Raiders' path to improvement being incredibly obvious this offseason, Pete Carroll's job security is now the franchise's burning question. Fans have wondered how committed a 74-year-old can be to rebuilding, especially when he has been vocally resistant to the idea for most of the year.
However, as the season has slipped further and further away from the team, now sitting at 2-13 and in danger of being sole owners of the worst record in the league after Week 17, Carroll has slowly started warming to the idea. Raider Nation doesn't want him back, but he's trying to change his tune.
Pete Carroll loves John Spytek and wants to see Raiders' rebuild through
Following Las Vegas' close loss to the Texans on Sunday, Carroll was asked, once again, if he would want to see a rebuild through with the organization. Carroll replied that he would, and also gave a rare shoutout to general manager John Spytek, who has spent most of the year in the shadows.
"I would love to. It's going to be challenging. It's a taxing challenge for us, but yeah, I really like this place and I like this team and I love working with Johnny and just mapping it out and putting it together and making sure that we bring people in that can really help us and challenge and compete with the guys that we have and just let that whole process take shape," Carroll said. "It's just unfortunate that there's not five or six or seven or eight wins in here that should have accompanied this season right now. It blows me away that this is the situation that we're in because I have no space in my brain for this. Maybe it had to be this hard. I don't know. We'll see."
It is a good thing that Carroll vocalized his love of working with Spytek, as the latter is likely around for the long haul. Carroll is also right about the unfortunate nature of this season. This year was supposed to be a stepping stone, but the Raiders have taken a major step back under his watch.
As he has gone on about this year, Carroll is puzzled about how things have turned out. When he was asked about how promising it is to see young players performing well, and how much confidence that gives him in a rebuild, Carroll snapped at the reporter before ultimately answering his question.
"I don't want to get into this rebuild thing, okay? Please. You said it. I agreed with you. I shouldn't have. Okay?" Carroll said. "It's crucially important. As long as it keeps us competing and that means it brings out the best in them, the young guys, and brings out the best in the guys that don't let them emerge. That's the whole makeup of what we're all about. And it brings out the best in all of us. We're rebuilding with the same guys. We ain't got no other team's players. We got the guys we have here. We have to continue to build and make this thing happen and come together. Games like this show you why we believe in that and gives them the understanding, the clarity and everybody that watches us, and so that's why I like this game."
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On the one hand, Carroll clearly knows that this Raiders squad needs to rebuild. On the other hand, it seems like he is still upset about it, and he may not fully grasp the entire concept. This Las Vegas team doesn't need to "rebuild with the same guys." They need a massive talent influx this offseason.
Based on how the year has gone, can owner Mark Davis and the rest of the front office have confidence that Carroll will actually play the team's best players, and not just play those who he is closely acquainted with, has a history with or stuck out his neck for?
Perhaps the bigger question is whether Carroll will do the right thing and fire his son so that the offensive line's young pieces can develop and the run game can improve. If fans are hestitating to answer "yes" to this series of questions, there is no reason he should continue leading this team.
The only argument for keeping Carroll at this point is if Davis and the franchise's decision-makers just don't love the candidates in this coaching cycle. They would need to stipulate several things before letting him come back to coach, and he'd need to be all-in on a long overdue rebuild in Las Vegas.
Carroll's comments after the Raiders' loss to the Texans make his feelings on this concept clear: he doesn't love the idea, nor fully understand it, but if it means he gets to stick around in Las Vegas, he would probably do it. The question of how well he'd do it or stick with it, however, remains to be seen.