The 2025 NFL season just ended, but several teams from around the league are already hard at work requesting to interview head coach and general manager candidates. The Las Vegas Raiders fired Pete Carroll on Monday, so they have no time to waste as they figure out their next steps.
General manager John Spytek and minority owner Tom Brady will be spearheading the search together for the franchise's next head coach. Talented leaders from all around the league should expect to hear a phone call from the Raiders soon, as they compile a list of candidates.
While Las Vegas waited until the morning after the season finale to officially announce that Carroll had been let go, Raider Nation knew this move was coming. Several reports are also indicating already that there may be a frontrunner in Las Vegas, thanks to Brady and his ties.
Reports are indicating a Brian Flores-Brian Daboll pairing in Las Vegas
Just before the news of Carroll's firing broke, ESPN's Ben Solak predicted that if Carroll was indeed let go, the Raiders should entertain the idea of Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores. We've written about Flores before, and with Carroll now gone, it could certainly be in the cards.
"If Carroll goes one-and-done, Brady will call an old New England friend to be head coach: current Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores," Solak wrote. "He'll get a well-deserved second crack at a head coaching gig after getting fired by the Dolphins in 2022."
Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio also believes that Las Vegas is a likely landing spot for Flores. Florio explained that New England injected some old-school Patriots mojo into the franchise this offseason, and it worked beautifully. Given the Brady connection, the Raiders could do the same.
"There’s a rumor currently making the rounds that, once Brady rolls up his sleeves (while also wearing one glove and an expensive-ass watch), he’ll make the case for bringing in Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
"As the chatter goes, Flores would be the head coach, and former Giants coach Brian Daboll would be the offensive coordinator. Like Flores, Daboll has extensive experience with the Patriot Way. Daboll was there for the first three Super Bowl wins of the Brady/Belichick era, and for two of the second trio of championships.
"Brady and Flores are believed to have a good relationship. Flores was among those in Miami who wanted to bring Brady to town after his time in Tampa."
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Florio's dot connecting with Flores is certainly interesting, but the addition of Daboll to the mix makes things even more intriguing. We wrote about Daboll as an interesting offensive coordinator candidate after the New York Giants fired him, but various reports indicated that he may not be a great leader.
However, as an offensive coordinator working under a no-nonsense head coach like Flores, Daboll could easily be reined in. Flores is an incredible leader in his own right, so he could force Daboll to stick to the offense and remain a bit more in the shadows.
One potential hiccup in this plan, as Florio also noted, is that Flores' lawsuit with the NFL is still pending. Mark Davis and the Raiders don't have any issue pitting themselves against the league, but it may just be another hoop to jump through and another target on Las Vegas' back.
Brady did reportedly have interest in playing for the Miami Dolphins when Flores was the head coach there, but under the guise that he would be playing under Sean Payton, not Flores. It was Flores' lawsuit in response to this that blew the whole plan up and penalized the Dolphins heavily.
Regardless, a lot of smoke seems to be pluming around the idea of Flores to the Raiders. As a defensive-minded head coach, nailing the offensive coordinator hire would be paramount for Flores, and another branch of the Patriots tree, Daboll, could make for quite a pairing in Las Vegas.
With Brady seemingly now pulling the strings for the Silver and Black, perhaps another dip into the "Patriot Way" is headed for Sin City. Hopefully, this time is different than it was with Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler.
Maybe the power of two Brians is more than Raider Nation can conceive. Maybe these are more baseless rumors, and Brady won't get his guy again. Who knows? But it'll make for an interesting offseason in Las Vegas.