Pete Carroll fired by Raiders after disastrous 3-14 run in 2025
Pete Carroll's return to the NFL sidelines was brief and tumultuous. Fired by the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday after a single 3-14 season, the 74-year-old coach's attempt to revive his career and a struggling franchise ended in failure.
Hired to a three-year deal in January 2025 following the Raiders' unsuccessful pursuit of Ben Johnson, Carroll was tasked with improving the culture and competitiveness of a perennially struggling organization. Despite his legendary track record with the Seattle Seahawks, the pairing was an awkward fit from the start—a team in need of a deep rebuild hiring the oldest head coach in league history on a win-now mandate.
The experiment unraveled quickly. A series of aggressive offseason moves backfired spectacularly. The Raiders hired Chip Kelly as the league's highest-paid offensive coordinator, traded for Carroll's former Seattle quarterback Geno Smith, and used the sixth overall draft pick on running back Ashton Jeanty. None yielded positive returns. Kelly was fired midseason, Smith struggled mightily, and Jeanty had an unproductive rookie year.
After a season-opening victory, the Raiders spiraled, losing 15 of their next 16 games. The defeats grew increasingly non-competitive, including a 31-0 shutout against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 15. A Week 18 upset of the Kansas City Chiefs served as a meager consolation but could not alter the inevitable outcome.
The disaster leaves the Raiders, now holders of the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, searching for their 15th different head coach (including interims) in 25 seasons. The opening remains a challenging sell, despite the allure of selecting a potential franchise quarterback like Indiana's Fernando Mendoza. While the roster features stars like tight end Brock Bowers and defensive end Maxx Crosby—whose own future with the team is uncertain—it lacks foundational young depth.
Carroll's second NFL act concludes as a stark misfire, highlighting the profound dysfunction within the Raiders organization. His hiring represented a short-term gamble that ignored the long-term project required in Las Vegas. The result was a misaligned vision, a broken roster, and yet another reset for a franchise still searching for a coherent plan and stable leadership two decades removed from its last playoff victory.
