Say what you will about Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll, but he’s sticking to his guns. He’s trying to win games, not develop talent—at least that’s what it seems like after he spoke to the media recently.
Perhaps, we had Carroll wrong all along. Can we blame him if he wanted to come in and do his best to guide the Raiders to a respectable record in 2025? Well, the problem is that after it became abundantly clear that this squad was the fourth-best team in the AFC West, everyone understood except for the beset coach. True to his ego and stubbornness, Carroll isn’t waving the white flag.
Why does Pete Carroll refuse to let his young players get playing time?
The issue with that is that the Raiders could be missing out on critical time to begin developing their young players, such as Caleb Rogers. Instead, the team is trotting out mediocre veterans in the guise of being “competitive” when in reality, the team is far from ready. On top of that, you have questionable play-calling, further exacerbating the problem.
Carroll, for his part, sees it as a “you” problem for those in the media and fanbase who believe he’s going about things in a disastrous manner.
“No, I think that’s your guys’ way of thinking. That’s not our way,” Carroll stated when asked about the refusal to play his younger players. “We’re trying to win games,” he added. Well, coach, you’re doing a phenomenal job of that right now. It’s quite telling how Carroll isn’t going to acknowledge that this season is a lost cause.
Obviously, no NFL coach will do that and much less admit to “tanking.” Still, your actions speak louder than any presser, and the fact that no attempt to assess the roster for 2026 is concerning. It should certainly raise red flags if you’re the Raiders’ ownership.
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*Top Photo: Candace Ward/Imagn Images