2025, like every year, was supposed to be the year of the Las Vegas Raiders. The year that this iconic franchise with an illustrious history was supposed to return to greatness and take the NFL by storm. But, also like every year, that didn't exactly happen.
Just a week into January, the Raiders cut ties with head coach Antonio Pierce and, shortly after, general manager Tom Telesco. A full reset was on the way once again, as bright, young Tampa Bay Buccaneers executive John Spytek took the reins as the general manager in Las Vegas.
Although minority owner Tom Brady was sure he could swoon hotshot coordinator Ben Johnson to be the Raiders' next head coach, he spurned the Silver and Black for the Chicago Bears. That led to Las Vegas settling for, well, Pete Carroll. Who has been an unmitigated disaster.
Raiders ready to turn the page on disastrous 2025 calendar year
Fans were able to talk themselves into Carroll after their initial hangover from Johnson choosing Chicago, but that gut feeling turned out to be right all along. The Raiders started off 1-0, and it appeared that Carroll's magic was working out in Las Vegas.
Except the Raiders have only won a single game since. They are 1-14 in their last 15 games, and 10 of those contests have been complete blowouts. This is the least competitive team the franchise has fielded in who knows how long, but since at least 2006.
The dysfunction started sooner than fans want to admit, as Carroll hired both of his sons to critical positions on the staff. Brennan, his older son, is the offensive line coach and run game coordinator. Nate, his younger son, is a quarterbacks coach. All three of those areas have been catastrophes.
Arguably, the worst thing that Brennan Carroll did was jumble around the interior offensive line for no particular reason. The unit went from being around league-average to being, without exaggeration, probably the single worst group in the NFL.
Christian Wilkins' saga with the team was tiresome, and he was eventually released. Fans were first upset that the Raiders did not get any compensation for him, but an entire season has passed, and no other NFL team touched Wilkins with a 10-foot pole. Probably a good call there, at least.
Geno Smith also regressed mightily this season, which absolutely no one saw coming. It took one week of practice for Amari Cooper's return to the franchise to be cut short, as he must have seen what a train wreck things were and jumped ship before being associated with it. Good call there, too.
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But, as the calendar flips to 2026, Raider Nation has to remain hopeful. We're not in the building making decisions. We don't get to draft or sign players. We aren't kicking them to the curb in the offseason when they underperform.
Hope is all we have, and as a fan base, that has gotten us burned at times. We believed in Josh McDaniels when our gut told us not to. The same happened with Antonio Pierce. With Pete Carroll. With Jimmy Garoppolo, Gardner Minshew and Geno Smith. None of them panned out.
Yet, this offseason, we can all freely admit that when the Raiders inevitably move on from Carroll and Smith, the next quarterback and head coach combo will be the one to transform this franchise into the monster that it can be.
With, ideally, the No. 1 pick and a first-time head coach, preferably from an offensive background, this Las Vegas team has a serious chance to make some major headway during the offseason and into the 2026 NFL season.
Pieces like Brock Bowers, Ashton Jeanty, Jack Bech, Darien Porter, Eric Stokes, Tre Tucker, Caleb Rogers, Charles Grant and Tonka Hemingway look to be potential difference-makers both now and in the future, and that is a ton to ride home about.
Another solid draft, another strong free agency period and a handful of the right calls under center and in the coaching cycle, and this Raiders team is back where it belongs. Where it needs to be. Battling for supremacy in a loaded AFC West division.
Maxx Crosby's future with the franchise is uncertain, and his departure would be a brutal way for the 2026 calendar year to kick off. But Raider Nation has to believe that 2026 will be their year. The Autumn Wind will blow again at some point. It has to. Why not 2026?