The Raiders were one of the most disappointing teams in the NFL in 2025 and their 3-14 record was especially surprising considering they had just hired one of the most accomplished head coaches in college and NFL history.
Pete Carroll wasn’t able to get the season going in a positive direction in his only season in Las Vegas and for the first time since he was fired, Carroll talked publicly about some of the issues the Raiders faced in 2025.
Carroll told ESPN’s Rich Cimini that the coaching staff, including himself, were to blame for Geno Smith’s failures, but seemed to be particularly disappointed in the offensive line he was handed.
“We got killed, we got killed,” Carroll said of the Raiders offensive line in 2025. “Our offensive guys up front, from the last couple of years, we got murdered. We needed to upgrade that more than we did. It didn’t happen in the draft, and it didn’t happen in the offseason.”
“We didn’t go for it in the offseason,” Carroll continued. “We needed to buy a new line to give the guys a chance to at least be more competitive. The only reason you get sacked that much is because you try to throw it too much. The whole thing didn’t quite work out and what’s why you saw a change and all that.”
Carroll didn’t mention Tom Brady and GM John Spytek by name, but he clearly didn’t feel the roster was built to win.
At around the midpoint of the season, some began to point to a disconnect between the Carroll and the decision makers in the Raiders’ building and even in his comments this week, it’s easy to Carroll didn’t see eye to eye with the personnel department in Las Vegas.
Another name Carroll didn’t mention was offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, but his comments about throwing the ball too much were obviously directed at Kelly.
The first time we heard Carroll make a pointed statement at Kelly was the first week of October, when he pointed to Kelly’s unwillingness to commit to the running game.
“The running game has looked well… we need to get more of it. That’s part of it. That’s just mixing football. That’s how you do it. We don’t want to ever rely on the quarterback to do the whole show and sit in shotgun and throw the football. Never coach that way,” Carroll told members of the media just a month into the season.
“And then, we’ve got to make sure we’re calling all the best stuff in the situations,” Carroll continued. “[Smith is] not calling the plays. We’ve got to call them, and we’ve got to make sure to get him in the right spots and give him the best chance to stay out of harm’s way.”
x: @raidersbeat
I mean they drafted two players at OL that looked better than the guys Pete kept putting out until the season was over and he finally gave them a chance. Obviously, the line wasn’t talented enough last year, but some of that was Pete and his son and their decisions around who to play. Was it Spytek or Brady continuing to start Glaze while he was one of the worst tackles in the league and they had a rookie waiting for a shot? I don’t think we actually know if JPJ is any good at this point, but was there any logic at all to him being behind Cappa?
And we all know at this point that OL is responsible for giving up pressures, but taking sacks (or committing egregious TOs) is generally on the QB. And Geno was atrocious in both regards last year.
Maybe Pete should have hired a good offensive line coach. Just saying. And why the eff didn’t the drafted players get to play during games? And the runaround with Jackson Powers-Johnson? Face it Pete, you were awful.
For an accomplished coach, like Carroll, to have to burn through an entire season before concluding that his personnel was lacking, is very telling at how poor a talent evaluator he is. We won’t get into the decision to hire his son to coach the OL.
Well Pete, draft Membou over Jeanty like I wanted
Oh Really Pete? First they didn’t have a Coach and the HEAD Coach has Been a Fraud his whole Career!!! You are a Slick Snake Oil Salesman and you got away with it for Decades… Shameful