The Las Vegas Raiders shocked the NFL world ahead of the 2025 season, as they hired an aging Pete Carroll to be their next head coach. The move hardly made any sense at the time, as he was set to turn 74 years old by Week 2, and the roster did not appear ready for contention.
Las Vegas made several win-now moves, including acquiring Geno Smith, who resurrected his career with the Seattle Seahawks under Carroll. While optimism was abundant heading into the season, that quickly faded as the Raiders wound up finishing just 3-14.
Making matters worse, Carroll never appeared to be on the same page with general manager John Spytek, something that was evident as he continuously refused to embrace a youth movement on a 10-game losing streak, with Ashton Jeanty marking the only rookie who had a consistent role.
While the oldest coach in NFL history was fired the day after this past season ended, his impact in Las Vegas may be felt for years to come. But it wasn't his intention.
Pete Carroll may be responsible for helping turn the Raiders around
Carroll came into Raiders HQ with the intention of winning right away, as he made preseason promises about pulling out 10 victories. He was supposed to be the culture setter who handed the keys off to a young predecessor to finish his mission. But Carroll utterly failed on that front.
Plenty of work is left to do before the new-look Raiders are viewed as a legitimate contender. But the offseason, however, has gotten off to a strong start, as Las Vegas hired former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, one of the most coveted offensive minds in this year's hiring cycle.
The franchise also holds the No. 1 overall pick due to the awful 2025 season and is in a position to select Fernando Mendoza. If the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner winds up reaching his full potential, Raider Nation should be grateful that Carroll's awful year led to a real franchise quarterback.
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Furthermore, if Kubiak turns out as advertised, Carroll would once again deserve credit, as his ineptitude and being fired after just one full campaign would have led the Raiders to their new head coach.
Not to mention, if the Super Bowl-winning leader hadn't stepped down from his head coaching role with the Seahawks, the franchise may not have landed Mike Macdonald, who, in turn, brought Kubiak on as his offensive coordinator in 2025.
While Kubiak had some previous coaching success, it wasn't until he got to Seattle that he truly took his game to another level. Consider this: the year before his arrival, the Seahawks ranked 18th in scoring offense, 14th in total yards, 28th in rushing yards, and 11th in rushing touchdowns. Under Kubiak? Those numbers jumped to third, eighth, tenth, and ninth, respectively.
If the combination of Kubiak and Mendoza ends up working out in Las Vegas, the fanbase can directly point to the underwhelming season under Carroll for both being in Silver and Black. While his tenure left a bad taste in the mouths of Raiders fans, the ripple effect of it may make it all worth it.