The Las Vegas Raiders fell to 2-8 during the 2025 NFL season with a loss earlier this week to the Dallas Cowboys. A shift toward playing younger players should have already occurred weeks ago, but it should be set to happen now for sure.
However, after the game, head coach Pete Carroll made it clear that he will not adopt this philosophy when he was asked if it was time to get a look at some of the team's younger players in an attempt to build for the future. Carroll insists that they're still all-in on winning now.
Being all-in hasn't worked out too well so far, however. If not for facing an impotent Tennessee Titans team in Week 6, the Silver and Black would not have a win since Week 1. Carroll even admitted that he doesn't "know how to coach" in a way that prioritizes younger players when all else is failing.
Which means he's clearly not the right head coach for this franchise right now.
Proposed candidate to replace Pete Carroll is hardly a needle mover
In the wake of the loss to Dallas, Moe Moton of Bleacher Report has offered a six-point blueprint to fix the Raiders in 2026. It seems more likely than ever that Carroll will step down after the season, in a mutually agreed-upon "parting of ways," to save face, rather than be fired.
But Moton started his offseason action plan with the Raiders firing Carroll and offering the head coaching job to... Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, in some sort of Ben Johnson re-do.
"Last offseason, the Raiders missed out on Ben Johnson, who has led the Chicago Bears to an NFC North division-leading 7-3 record and elevated quarterback Caleb Williams," Moton wrote. "Spytek and minority owner Tom Brady should lead the charge for Klint Kubiak, who's the play-caller for the Seattle Seahawks' third-ranked scoring offense."
Even with the life of a coach being what it is, Kubiak is on his fourth coaching staff in as many seasons right now. As such, it's hard to see him as a particularly strong head coaching candidate after the season, even if he's the son of a Super Bowl-winning coach and has had recent success.
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But in what's looking to be a light year for good candidates, he may get multiple interviews if the Seahawks' offense remains among the league's best. Raider Nation may have apprehension about another coach from Seattle, but this is different. Kubiak is 38 years old, which is half as old as Carroll.
Within the idea of needing a head coach who can develop a young quarterback, Moton also offered Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady as an alternative if Kubiak turns down the Raiders' hypothetical offer to replace Carroll.
But Brady did not really develop Josh Allen from the ground up, and the tailwind his coaching career got from working with Joe Burrow at LSU in 2019 is more like a light breeze now. The Bills' offense has taken a step back this season, which calls into question the efficacy of a coach like Brady as well.
Moton's offering Kubiak as a top candidate to replace Carroll says it all about the situation the Raiders are in. They need a head coach who is better aligned with where they are, and it's not looking like there'll be a long list of great candidates to choose from.