The Las Vegas Raiders fired head coach Antonio Pierce after one season because they felt certain that they would find an upgrade. But after getting spurned by their top choice and failing to even interview some of the other top candidates, the Raiders had to settle for Pete Carroll.
Yes, Carroll came to Las Vegas as a Super Bowl champion head coach and someone who was well-respected for his ability to build a strong culture. But Raider Nation was wary of the fact that Carroll was already 74 years old, and he seemed like an odd pairing with general manager John Spytek.
Fans remained hopeful, as they always do, that Carroll could pull this team out of the darkness and eventually hand things off to a young successor. But neither of those has come to fruition during the 2025 NFL season, and to add insult to injury, Las Vegas' other options are panning out just fine.
NFL Coach of the Year odds offer brutal reality check for Raiders
It was no secret that the apple of minority owner Tom Brady's eye was Ben Johnson, who led the Raiders on and was eventually hired by the Chicago Bears. Another favorable option was Mike Vrabel, one of Brady's longtime teammates, but he quickly landed with the New England Patriots.
Liam Coen also made sense, as he was the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where Spytek was. But only the Jacksonville Jaguars could pry him out of the NFC South, so the Raiders missed out on what most considered to be the top three choices in the hiring cycle.
Of course, hiring head coaches can be a bit of a crapshoot at times in the NFL. For the Raiders under Mark Davis, however, it has been a Herculean task comparable only to trying to boil the ocean. The organization has just made it seem like it's impossible to find a bright mind to lead the franchise.
This season, all three of the aforementioned coaches have turned their team into contenders, while Carroll has Las Vegas at 2-10, 0-4 in the AFC West and current holder of the No. 4 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. It's not crazy to say that things have never been worse for the Silver and Black.
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To make matters worse, the current NFL Coach of the Year odds, according to BetMGM, feature the following coaches:
Mike Vrabel -235
Ben Johnson +250
Mike Macdonald +650
Brian Schottenheimer +1800
Shane Steichen +2500
Liam Coen +2500
Dave Canales +2500
Of course, Vrabel, Johnson and Coen are all near the top of the list, with the former two at the very top. Carroll, rightfully, is tied for dead last in the current odds at a ridiculous +50000. This puts him in the company of the head coaches of the other worst teams in the NFL.
It should also not be lost on Raider Nation that Mike Macdonald, Carroll's successor in Seattle, is near the top of the board. Whereas the Seahawks have not missed a beat and arguably gotten better since Carroll's departure, Las Vegas has gotten worse since his arrival.
Another layer of this is that Brian Schottenheimer and Dave Canales, both former assistants under Carroll, are regarded as some of the NFL's best head coaches this season. Carroll must have taught these men something along the way, but he has clearly forgotten what it was in 2025.
When looking at this list, six of the seven favorites to win the NFL Coach of the Year award were either viable options instead of Carroll, Carroll's successor, or his former assistants. The Raiders clearly made the wrong choice, but it also seems like the game is passing Carroll by a bit as well.
Mark Davis, the Raiders and their fan base are once again taking their medicine for their failure to find a viable head coach, and this list is the most brutal of reminders.