The Las Vegas Raiders have been the definition of dysfunction for quite some time. Since they reached the Super Bowl in 2002, only the Cleveland Browns have less wins. Their two postseason games played are the least in the league, while the Miami Dolphins are the only other team who have not won a playoff game in that span.
The Raiders have gone through more head coaches in that stretch than they did in the first 42 years of their existence. They are now on their third coach in the past three seasons, and their fifth coach in five years. Many expected the hiring of Super Bowl-winning coach Pete Carroll to be stabilizing for the organization. But that has not been the case through the first five games of the 2025 NFL season.
Las Vegas is just 1-4 after suffering a 40-6 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, which was their biggest margin of defeat since 2014. They have also dealt with several distractions off the field, and Geno Smith has been awful at quarterback, as he leads the league with nine interceptions.
Raiders called out as their struggles continue to grow
Simply put, nothing is going right for the Raiders in what already seems like another wasted season. To make matters worse, The Ringer's Bill Simmons just called the organization out in a brutal way for their dysfunction, starting with Smith.
"It just seems like it's over. He has nine interceptions already in five games, and there's like a storied list of people who have done this and it's all some of the worst quarterbacks you can remember from the last 30 years. The Raiders, of course, have had a couple of them," Simmons said. "I can't believe how bad he's been. They gave him $75 million for two years, they gave up a third-round pick for him and he's worse than the guys they had last year. It was (Aidan) O'Connell, (Gardner) Minshew and (Desmond) Ridder. 19 touchdowns, 16 interceptions. Geno's six TDs, nine interceptions right now."
Simmons then took a shot at the organization as a whole, and it was an intense gut punch.
"The Raiders are 1-4. It turns out mid-70's Pete Carroll, a washed up Chip Kelly, a multitasking Tom Brady, an apparently washed up Geno Smith and the son of Al Davis were not the dream team, in retrospect," Simmons said.
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The Raiders have tried almost everything they can to right the ship over the past 23 years; however, nothing seems to work. It is clear that the franchise's strategy of bringing in veteran quarterbacks has not paid off, and the constant reshuffling of the leadership is not bringing success either.
Las Vegas will need to make the decision to draft a quarterback in the first round, which is something they haven't done since selecting JaMarcus Russell first overall in 2007. In fact, they have drafted just three quarterbacks in the first round since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.
While the organization can't keep changing regimes and likely need to give the current staff at least another year, Smith should not be under center for the Raiders in 2026. Instead, the focus should be on developing a young prospect who can grow with offensive cornerstones Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty.