Pete

Carroll

Of all of Monday’s firings, this one will go down as the most inevitable, as well as the most necessary. Although inarguably one of the greatest football coaches in American history, Carroll proved out of ideas as the literal oldest head coach in NFL history. His plan to “run back” his final 9-8 Seahawks campaigns with Geno Smith was dead on arrival, with an archaic offensive approach somehow proving incapable of getting the ball to the likes of Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers. Things were even worse along the offensive line, where Carroll curiously never placed much emphasis even during his most successful seasons in Seattle. There are bigger problems than Carroll with this franchise — who exactly is in charge, for instance — but he was not going to be the solution in 2026. The Silver and Black will be hiring their fifth full-time head coach since moving to Nevada in 2020.

The smoke on Carroll’s impending firing has been out of control all week, with the embattled 74-year-old head coach being a consensus pick to lose his job following today’s game against the Chiefs. The Raiders will have to eat the final two years of Carroll’s contract to fire him. The Raiders definitely haven’t done enough to give Carroll any benefit of the doubt, but it’s still a little surprising that the Raiders will become the first team to one-and-done consecutive coaches since the 2021-22 Houston Texans.

One loss away from clinching the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Raiders seem ready to head into a full rebuild this offseason. Last offseason’s plan to bring in Carroll along with former Seahawks QB Geno Smith failed spectacularly. Carroll was brought in as a stabilizer after Antonio Pierce was fired after just one season, but the Raiders were arguably even more in disarray this year and it’s likely the 74-year-old coach will suffer the same fate. While the decision on Carroll will be made by Mark Davis, expect Raiders minority owner Tom Brady to have input on the next coach once the job presumably becomes available.

It’s sort of jammed in to the end of a Bluesky video about the Raiders future, but Rapoport brings up the idea of Fernando Mendoza being the future of the franchise should they finish their tank successfully against the Chiefs and says “We’ll see if Pete Carroll is there for it, I doubt it, but we’ll see.” It would be hard to blame the Raiders for pulling the plug after this disastrous season, but Carroll would be their second-straight one-and-done head coach.

That was, of course, Pete Carroll’s final season in Seattle. Rapoport went even further, saying, “One previous opponent even had their scout team prepare cards based on Seattle plays of the past under Carroll, sources say.” This report comes just a few days after Tom Pelissero, Rapoport’s NFL Network colleague, said that Chip Kelly botched his own play calls during games and even called plays that hadn’t been installed during practice. As tends to happen in disaster seasons, everyone in Vegas is fighting to blame someone else through the media. Assuming Carroll is a one-and-done in Vegas, it’s a sad end to a legendary career. The game had left Carroll behind in his final years with the Seahawks, but he just couldn’t stay away. The Raiders, in turn, will have to blow things up and start from scratch this offseason.

Carroll is the third head coach to be hired by the Raiders since 2022. He’s not getting the 10-year, $100 million deal the Raiders gave Jon Gruden back in 2018, but according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the 73-year-old coach has agreed to a three-year deal with the Raiders that includes a fourth-year team option. After spending 2024 in the Seahawks’ front office as an advisor, Carroll is ready to take on one of his toughest challenges in decades — turning around a Raiders team that has just two double-digit win seasons over the last 22 years, and only two playoff berths over that span. He’ll have his work cut out for him playing in the AFC West, where three of the four teams cranked out double-digit wins to make the postseason, while the Raiders finished a dismal 4-13. Currently holding the No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Raiders are in dire need of a franchise quarterback — whether that’s by draft, trade, or free agency. Carroll takes over a team that ranked 29th in scoring last season, and allowed the sixth-most points on defense. The Raiders are a long way from being competitive, but Carroll is undoubtedly up for the task.

Underdog Fantasy’s James Palmer said on Thursday that the “buzz is real” between Carroll and the Raiders after Vegas lost out to the Bears on Ben Johnson. Carroll, 73, spent last season in the Seahawks’ front office after mutually agreeing to step down as the team’s head coach following the 2023 season. During his 14-year run as the Seahawks’ head coach Carroll posted a 137-89 record while appearing in two Super Bowls and winning one. Should the Raiders hire him, he would create an immediate culture shift for a team in desperate need of an upgrade in an ever-competitive AFC West.

While the report is being called informal, Harris says, “the interest is legitimate enough to be reported.” It was reported earlier today that the Cowboys could hire offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer as its next head coach as early as Thursday, but this latest bit of news on Carroll comes hours after that report. Carroll was thought to have a chance to land the Bears’ head coaching gig before they went out and poached Ben Johnson from the Lions, and there have also been rumors that the Raiders are considering Carroll as their “backup option” after they also lost out on Johnson. Now, the Cowboys could emerge as the third team with serious interest in Carroll, although it sounds like this courting is in its earliest stages. Carroll would have a multitude of offensive weapons at his disposal should he wind up in Dallas, but will have his work cut out for him to fix a defense that ranked 31st in points allowed and 28th in yards allowed last season.

With the Raiders GM vacancy now filled by former Buccaneers’ assistant GM John Spytek, the team can shift all of its focus to hiring a head coach. Carroll, 73, has been on a handful of teams’ coaching radars this offseason, and it was reported earlier this week by The Athletic’s Tashan Reed that he is “believed to be” the “backup” option to fill their head coaching vacancy. With former Lions OC turned Bears HC Ben Johnson the presumed top choice at the time, Carroll could now slide into the pole position for the Raiders job. Palmer cites Carroll’s familiarity with Tom Brady as something that could give him an inside edge on the job, while also highlighting Carroll’s track record as a proven winner. With one Super Bowl title under his belt and two Super Bowl appearances during his 14-year tenure with the Seahawks, it’s easy to see why he would be an attractive hire for a franchise in desperate need of wins and stability at head coach.

The Raiders have bet big on their chances of getting Ben Johnson, with an interview with former Lions executive Lance Newmark the latest sign that they are hoping to create a coalition around what Johnson wants. It appears the Ben Johnson silly season will come to a close soon with the Bears and Jaguars also circling. However, Reed writes that the big question that remains is “whether Johnson would take the job,” as the Raiders lack talent compared to the other two squads, especially at quarterback. Carroll would be a strong rebound hire despite his advanced age. He had a strong 14-year run with the Seahawks and would likely bring some semblance of stability to an organization that has had trouble instilling that.