Pete Carroll became the NFL’s oldest head coaching hire this past offseason when he was brought in by the Raiders. His return to the sidelines has not gone well, though, and it remains to be seen if a second Vegas season will be in store. 
Carroll has already dismissed two coordinators – Tom McMahon (special teams) and Chip Kelly (offense) – this month. The Raiders sit at 2-9 at this point, and plenty of work will need to be done in the spring to improve the current roster. At 74, Carroll may not been seen as a strong fit for a rebuilding process.
The Super Bowl winner took a three-year contract to join the Raiders. Expectations for a relatively strong debut season were based in large part on the success Carroll had with quarterback Geno Smith. The two were reunited when Smith was acquired via trade, but that move has not yielded the desired results. Smith’s 13 interceptions lead the NFL, and finding consistent production on offense has proven to be a challenge.
Vegas will enter free agency and the draft this spring with questions about the team’s long-term outlook under center, but by that point another change on the sidelines may have taken place. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport notes (video link) Carroll is on the hot seat. A Saturday Rapoport report detailed the extent to which Carroll influenced the Raiders’ offense in 2025 and the tension it caused with Kelly. With notable firings having been made in-season, it will be interesting to see if Carroll remains in place for next year.
Instability on the sidelines and in the front office has been a defining characteristic of the Raiders during their time in Vegas. The team will look for a period of consistency with general manager John Spytek and minority owner Tom Brady (whose voice carries more weight than his title would imply) through the remainder of this season and beyond. Replacing Carroll would constitute a swing and miss from that duo while also continuing an unwanted trend of short HC tenures.
Since Jon Gruden‘s 2021 resignation, the Raiders have cycled through Rich Bisaccia, Josh McDaniels, Antonio Pierce and now Carroll as head coaches. A positive end to the season would quiet the talk surrounding a potential switch on the sidelines, although Vegas does not face high expectation in that respect.
Rehire Gruden then
I would give Carroll another chance though
You don’t say?
Mark Davis’ two favorite moves as an owner are paying famous people to coach the team and then paying famous people to not coach the team anymore.
Throwing Pete under the bus is the easy thing to do but even John Madden couldn’t make a winner out of this roster.
It was a bad idea, made much worse by giving him nothing to work with.
I’m not sure Carroll has it anymore, but nobody is winning with that roster.
haha. not Geno Smiths fault at all. dude leads the league in turnovers and is arguably one of the worst QBs in the league. but it’s Pete Carroll 😂😂
Geno hasn’t looked good this year, but it’s also very hard to play quarterback when you don’t have a line that protects you or receivers who get open.
“Oh Carroll, don’t let him steal yo heart away… I’m gonna learn to dance if it takes me all night and day…”
Chuck Berry
Two solid Tight Ends, but nothing in the way of dynamic WRs. A leaky OL, and then there is Jeanty.
Jeanty and Bowers are the Raiders future, but they have to compliment these guys. Give Bowers someone to take the pressure off, and give Jeanty an OL to create him some holes. The rest will take care of itself with a competent QB and OC.
Free Agency isn’t the way to go to build a team, but it can definitely help if you bring in the right pieces that help change around the losing culture.
They have a laundry list of needs, but with a really good draft, and a smart, methodical free agency they will most definitely look much closer.
Trade down a few spots and Draft the WR from ASU Tyson in first round, and select Shelton the OT from Penn State in the 2nd or the best OL available. Then, build from there with another 2nd Round pick from the trade down, and 3-4 more available picks in the 3rd and 4th Rounds. Add experienced talent in the latter rounds to help build your depth, and that should be a good start to helping this dumpster fire put out the flames…
I am not genius myself, but it really does not seem all that difficult to at least surround your core talent with more young talented players and start to build up your foundation moving forward.
Also, believe in the players you draft, and empower them to succeed. Bech getting one target a game is absolutely absurd…