You can’t spell “incompetent” without “Pete”.
That’s the territory the Las Vegas Raiders are in at 2-5 overall under head coach Pete Carroll.
Instead of installing a culture or identity in the desert, the 74-year-old head coach, the Silver & Black are in shambles as they settle into a much-needed bye week. Instead of bringing a stabilizing veteran presence to a team in dire need of one, Carroll’s Raiders scored just 103 total points (31st out of the 32 teams) and allowed 180 points (eighth most in the league) for a disconcerting -77 point differential through the first even games of the year.
Just seven games into his initial season helming the team, we’ve seen peaks and valleys that showcase fleeting glimpses of complementary football with Carroll in charge. But mostly, we’ve been treated to some atrocious football from this ragamuffin group. And all three phases of the team’s game — offense, defense, and special teams — have taken turns in participating in regressive football. The most recent outing — a 31-0 loss to their AFC West foe Kansas City Chiefs this past Sunday — just the latest example of rancid play.
Hence a welcome reprieve for the rickety Raiders.
The early returns on Carroll’s hire looks like another gaffe by owner Mark Davis.
“Yeah, I’m surprised that we’re not farther along than we are. I thought we would be, and I anticipated being farther along and being cleaner with our game,” Carroll said during his post-practice media session on Monday. “What I’m trying to show you is that we can play really balanced football, meaning that all three phases can do their part and give us a chance to play the game where we’re not giving the game away. And early on, we’ve turned the ball over like crazy, and the kicking game was struggling, and defense was kind of holding it together for us, it seemed.
“And so, the kicking game has come back around. Couple guys have been switched around, moved around, I think (special teams coordinator) Tom (McMahon) did a nice job adjusting and the last couple games have been very solid. You kind of don’t even want to know they’re out there and every once in a while they make a play, and that’s kind of taking place. And defensively was different yesterday, we really missed Maxx (Crosby). Maxx’s dynamic play and the things that he does, that was obvious to me, but that’s come along. Offensively now, we’ve settled down giving the football up, and so now we need to kind of get going again and get moving and get productive. Yesterday was a mess of making first downs and they did a great job on us.”
One could saying laying all the Raiders struggles at Carroll’s feet is hardly fair. He has a tag team partner in all of this: General manager John Spytek. It’s that duo of Carroll and Spytek that not only built this roster heading into the 2025 campaign but it’s the combo entrusted in restoring the glory of the Silver & Black. Instead, the head coach and GM are leading the team into darker waters.
For any team that’s got a first-year general manager and veteran head coach pairing, Year 1 is normally the mulligan season. Las Vegas was rife with roster holes and Carroll and Spytek went about filling them best they can in free agency, the draft, and continued evaluation of talent. The biggest question mark — who is the starting quarterback — was answered in true Carroll fashion as the Raiders acquired Geno Smith via trade with the Seattle Seahawks. Carroll’s convictions about a signal caller he breathed new life into was so strong, Las Vegas made Smith a $75-million man.
What a dud that’s turned out to be, no?
Smith leads the NFL in interceptions thrown with 10 and has absorbed the seventh most sacks amongst quarterbacks with 19. The Miami Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa didn’t want to be outdone in the throwing picks department and has a twin 10 interceptions thrown. But he’s also fired 11 touchdown passes compared to Smith’s seven.
That maneuver to land Smith gave highly-paid offensive coordinator Chip Kelly an experienced and productive veteran at the all-important quarterback spot. And we’re supposed to get a multi-faceted and creative attack from the Raiders offense in 2025.
Oh, it’s been offensive — for all the wrong reasons.
Be it the play calling — Carroll fired a shot across Kelly’s bow when he said the team should run the ball more during a press conference — or player execution — from the offensive line, to Smith, the receivers, et al — Las Vegas is rolling snake eyes from snap to snap with the Kansas City debacle the worst showing of the bunch. When the Raiders run 30 total plays and zero points to the Chiefs’ 30 first downs and 31 points, the gap between the two AFC West squads is as cavernous as it’s glaring.
And it’s Carroll at the front of that. He made the call to hire Kelly as his offensive coordinator. And he brought back Patrick Graham be the defensive coordinator and kept McMahon in place to run special teams. It’s Carroll’s staff, and, while Spytek plays a hand in building the roster, it’s Carroll who is the decision maker when it comes to depth chart and deciding who is active and inactive game days.
One can’t ignore the Raiders are missing an integral piece to the offense in tight end Brock Bowers. Carroll can’t control injuries and the injury bug bit the talented tight end hard with a knee ailment. But what Carroll can control is if Bowers is inactive and heals up. Instead, Las Vegas trotted out its hobbled tight end and it hurt more than it helped.
“We missed some guys out there. (Wide receiver) Jakobi (Meyers) was really important to us, not having him, and the fact that we were so close to getting Brock back. We’ve been without Brock for almost a month now. He missed three games. It seems like forever,” Carroll lamented. “And he’s such a central figure in our offense, to have him coming back will just seem different. I think everything about it will look different. And we’re counting on that.”
Yet, Carroll’s largest faux pas came before the 2025 campaign started. When the head coach boisterously said “We are going to win a bunch of games, and I don’t care who hears that.” That was the paradigm shift that torpedoed the patient rebuild mantra. And now Carroll has to face that music.
When asked about identifying the team’s identity right now through seven games compared to what he wants it to be, Carroll didn’t provide a direct answer. He spoke about balance and getting players back on offense and defense.
Perhaps he should stress comPETE again, and rigorously have his Raiders earn their spots. Instead of — you know — coddling Smith like the quarterback is a baby. It’s well documented how Carroll has put offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson through competition to earn the right guard spot. And the second-year lineman was benched after getting worked over by Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones. However, Smith’s play has been as erratic, if not worse, and in comparison, the signal caller is getting handled with kid gloves.
Look, I get an NFL quarterback is given preferential treatment. But the offensive line is the lifeblood of an NFL team and the disparity in the handling of Powers-Johnson to Smith is eyebrow raising — to say the least.
“We’ll see. The competition is on. And we’re not through thinking that way about opportunities for guys. I thought it was right to get G (Smith) out, and Kenny (Pickett) needs to get some snaps,” Carroll noted. “You know, right off the bat, he screws up and missed the freaking first snap. He just needs some playtime in case we need to call on him, so he feels comfortable jumping in. Darien (Porter), I’m always looking for chances to get him out there and get him playing. So, that’s good and we’ll continue to do that. There are guys up front on the offensive line and on the defensive line that we would love to give some playtime to. We stuck a couple guys in there just to get a couple snaps in at the end. They just need to be on the field, so we’re going to continue to push that way.”
Sounds good, yeah?
I mean, Smith also botched the snap, but nary a mention of that. But I digress.
If Carroll wants to get the Raiders where they want to go post bye and the rest of 2025, the kid gloves must come off. Back to fundamentals and doing things right — across the board. Regardless of position or past relationships with the head coach.
Because so far, in his early tenure, the identity for the Carroll-led Raiders is what it’s been for a while: A fundamentally bad football team. And if that’ continues, it’s most definitely: IncomPETEnt, not comPETE.
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