This isn’t the same silver and black club that Raider Nation has been accustomed to dealing with for two consecutive decades. Thanks to Tom Brady, who Las Vegas Raiders acting owner Mark Davis brought in via an ownership deal, Sin City’s football club is walking down an entirely new path than in years past. A path that involves Pete Carroll.
Whether this path leads to success or not is to be determined. In the meantime, however, Brady and Davis are making it clear that they’re willing to do whatever it takes to try to lead their franchise in the right direction.
That includes hiring 73-year-old Pete Carroll, a former Super Bowl champion, to lead the charge.
Carroll’s resume is one that few people who’ve coached in the National Football League come close to. On top of taking down first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning in Super Bowl XLVIII, and returning to the nationally renowned contest the following season, only 15 coaches in league history have won more football games than Carroll has throughout his illustrious career.
John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens, Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs stand as the only active three.
Although, even with all of Carroll’s success, there are clear things to be wary of, none bigger than the eye-popping age of Carroll, who will be the oldest head coach to coach a game in NFL history.
It isn’t just that Carroll is older than any other head coach in league history—it’s that he’s just now starting his journey of building a new team at 73 years of age.
It makes for a mind-boggling reality.
As the Raiders get ready to start that journey under Carroll, we at The Raider Ramble give our thoughts on Las Vegas’ new head coaching hire.
The Raider Ramble staff reactions to Las Vegas Raiders new head coaching hire, Pete Carroll
Alex Monfreda – @AlexMonfreda
Like all hires around the league each year, this move has both its positive and negative aspects. There are those who will choose to highlight the positives and those who choose to focus on the concerns, but both will always exist, no matter which side of the coin a person is attaching themselves to.
The positive: Pete Carroll is, for a fact, what the Raiders organization hoped Antonio Pierce would be.
He’s a coach who galvanizes his team and brings his locker room closer together than they’ve ever been. One that creates a special culture that makes players want to stick around for extended periods of time and attracts free agents, whether or not the wins are coming.
Fortunately, with Carroll, wins do come quite frequently regardless.
To see how impactful this truly is, look no further than players around the NFL who played for Carroll and the respect and admiration they still, to this day, have for their former head coach.
Future Hall of Fame linebacker Bobby Wagner spent 10 straight years in Seattle, playing for a coach he absolutely loved playing for. In fact, Wagner loved playing with Carroll so much that it took one single year away from Seattle to make him return and once again play for his then-former head coach.
Even now, Wagner is openly celebrating Carroll heading back into the NFL, as did others such as Quandre Diggs and Geno Smith.
Even those Carroll had a “falling out” with, such as Russell Wilson, are players who constantly keep in touch with the 73-year-old. To the point that NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport suspects Wilson and Carroll will link back up in Las Vegas, should Wilson and the Pittsburgh Steelers part ways.
It’s an undeniable culture that has ever-lasting effects on those who have experienced it.
The not-so-good part
As mentioned, every hire comes with aspects that are both positive and negative. In the case of Pete Carroll, the negative cannot be glossed over.
Carroll is on a three-year deal that almost certainly will be the only contract he gets as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. Being he turns 74 years of age on September 15th, the legendary Seattle Seahawks coach will be on the cusp of 77 with a second contract in play.
Regardless of whether or not these next three years bring success, handing a soon-to-be 77-year-old a head coaching contract sounds nothing short of ridiculous.
Pete Carroll will start being the Las Vegas Raiders in his image starting now. With the above sentiment in mind, he will have three years to do just that.
And then what?
What will happen is a new head coach will come to Sin City with his own vision. The roster Carroll created may have talent by then, but it won’t be the vision of the Raiders new man in charge.
Similar to how the roster Reggie McKenzie had built, with all its talent, wasn’t what Jon Gruden had in mind. And the roster Gruden built wasn’t what Josh McDaniels envisioned.
A shift in captains of the ship brings a new vision. A new vision brings roster turnover, which breeds a path of instability—especially when done in succession, just as the Raiders have made sure happens time and time again.
Fortunately, there are two ways to prevent this from happening: Hiring a coordinator who shares Carroll’s vision and will continue to build on it once he’s gone or keeping Carroll involved in an advisory role of sorts.
If Brady and Davis want to make the Pete Carroll era mean something, they need to make sure his vision lives on. Otherwise, these next three years will mean absolutely nothing. Carroll will start building a team in his image and not have enough time to establish much of anything. Then, a new guy will come in and start the process all over again.
Make sure that doesn’t happen, Raiders.
Las Vegas Raiders hire Pete Carroll as HC: More reactions
Trevis Dampier Jr. – @TrevisJay_
Even though Raiders fans wanted Ben Johnson, Pete Carroll will suffice. Despite being 74 years old when the season starts, he is still an upgrade over Antonio Pierce.
Fans will no longer question the decisions in late-game moments. He, along with John Spytek, should guarantee worthy draft selections.
Additionally, a culture will be set. Hopefully the team can promote someone within the organization after Carroll steps down. It will be exciting to see the continued rivalry between Jim Harbaugh and the former Seahawks head coach.
Jake Brockhoff – @brockhoff55
While the Raiders missed out on Ben Johnson, Pete Carroll is not a bad rebound at all. As soon as he steps into the building, the franchise will have more of a sense of stability than they’ve felt in quite a while. Carroll’s won wherever he’s been and, at the very least, can set the Raiders in the right direction.
It would be a good idea to groom a coordinator under Carroll to take over, since Carroll’s age will limit the length of his tenure in Las Vegas. Still, it’s a positive move, something the Raiders haven’t done much of lately.
Mario Tovar- @TheTovarMario_
Culture and stability are not typically associated with the Raiders. Look, we all know folks fooled themselves into thinking that Ben Johnson was coming to Sin City. Unfortunately, it was flawed logic—more of the fan-driven nonsense that gets Raider Nation excited for no reason, only to be disappointed in the end. With that being said, Pete Carroll coming in addresses the two aforementioned terms: stability and a winning culture, something that the Silver and Black have little experience with.
This might not be a home run but it’s a double, maybe a triple (if you’re familiar with baseball), so the Raiders will take it.
One last reaction
Dalton Blackman – @blackman_dalton