The Raiders took a step toward securing the first overall pick by losing yesterday. Vegas now has a record of 2-14, though, and the team has lost 10 straight games. 
The fate of head coach Pete Carrol therefore remains something to watch closely as ‘Black Monday’ approaches. The Super Bowl winner has been named a strong one-and-done candidate on multiple occasions, although he fully plans to remain with the Raiders beyond the final week of the season. Carroll spoke after Sunday’s loss and reiterated his stance that ownership still backs him.
“I do. From all the guys I’ve talked to, I do feel like I have their support,” the 74-year-old said (video link). “What does that mean? I don’t know, but our conversations have been really good.”
Such remarks are commonplace late in the season for coaches in danger of being dismissed. As Carroll is no doubt well aware, dialogue with ownership in no way guarantees stability from one year to the next. The Raiders in particular have cycled through a long list of HC and GM combinations in recent years, including the organization’s reshaping in 2025. Carroll was hired during Tom Brady‘s first offseason as an official minority owner, one in which John Spytek was brought in as general manager.
Things have certainly not gone according to plan this year. Carroll has already fired a pair of coordinators – including the highly-compensated Chip Kelly – with production on offense proving to be a major challenge. The Raiders also rank 25th in the NFL in scoring defense, an illustration of the extent to which widespread improvement will be required in 2026. Two HC vacancies currently exist around the league, and more will soon open; whether or not Vegas joins the list of suitors for a new coach will be interesting to monitor over the coming days.
In the event a change is made on the sidelines, several staffers with a defensive background are set to dominate the pool of replacement candidates. One of those is Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, whom Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated identifies as a “name to keep an eye on” with respect to Vegas. Minter developed a strong track record in the college ranks before following Jim Harbaugh from Michigan to the Bolts in 2024. Los Angeles has thrived defensively under Minter. The 42-year-old has not served as a head coach yet during his career, but that could soon change and the Raiders could find themselves amongst his suitors.
Davis: “Hey Pete, don’t worry we got your back”.
Pete: “I knew I could count on your support”.
Brady whispers to Davis: “Now we just have to find the best place in that back to stick the knife”.
If Brady’s “consulting” skills are as good as his broadcasting abilities, the Raiders are doomed.
Minter has been excellent but he sure would have liked to have had those early, blown coverages against the Texans back …
Teams would be best served by hiring an offensive-minded head coach. I never thought it mattered much, but in the event that the team does well and the OC gets poached (to go become an HC somewhere), the HC doesn’t have to rely on hiring a new OC and hope that they can maintain the offensive scheme. The Patriots are an exception to this rule, but only because McDaniels is kind of impossible to hire as an HC at this point, so Vrabel can make it work as a D-minded HC without any fear of losing his OC. Look at Campbell (Lions) and Bowles (Bucs) – they lose their OCs and they take a step or two backwards. The Commanders with Quinn at HC and Kingsbury at OC may be at a crossroads if Kliff gets hired away (not sure that he’s Josh McDaniels material yet). Hire an offensive minded HC, plug and play a DC, draft a young QB and let them grow together. Take some lumps, but in the end, it should work. #patience