Will Pete Carroll be the Raiders next one-and-done head coach?
Based on what NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport has been reporting in recent weeks, it doesn’t sound like Carroll’s odds of keeping his job are good.
With the first-overall pick most likely going to the Raiders (80 percent odds according to ESPN), there is reason for hope in the long term, but Rapoport doesn’t believe Carroll will be a part of the next chapter in Las Vegas.
“This could be a franchise-altering moment for the Las Vegas Raiders, so whatever they needed to get [the no. 1 pick], it certainly seemed like they tried,” Rapoport said on Monday.
“And now barring some sort of sudden change or something like that, it looks like the Raiders will be making the no. 1 overall pick. This can change an organization. It took a lot to get here. We’ll see if Pete Carroll is there for it. I doubt it, but we’ll see, but the no. 1 overall pick awaits the Las Vegas Raiders.”
Rapoport has been one of the more critical insiders of Carroll in the last month and came to the defense of Chip Kelly when multiple reports blasted the Raiders’ former offensive coordinator shortly after he was fired.
“Based on the views of those who studied the offense and based on those who game-planned against it this season, they don’t believe Kelly was running his own offense at all. It was unlike anything Kelly previously had run,” Rapoport said in November.
“In fact, defensive coordinators likened the Raiders offense this season more to Shane Waldron’s offense with the Seahawks in 2023, Carroll’s last year with Seattle,” Rapoport continued. “Kelly’s trademark creative runs out of shotgun had been dramatically limited. Instead, the blend of Seattle and Las Vegas schemes tilted far more toward the under-center zone scheme Carroll favors.”
“One previous opponent even had their scout team prepare cards based on Seattle plays of the past under Carroll, sources say.”
If Carroll wanted one more opportunity to make the case for his job, the opportunity has essentially been stripped from him in an effort to secure the no. 1 pick in the draft.
Maxx Crosby and Brock Bowers have been sidelined, and Carroll’s hand-picked quarterback will miss the final game of the season with a high ankle sprain – although Geno Smith’s absence might actually help the team’s chances of winning.
With Patrick Mahomes out for the season and Kansas City long removed from playoff contention, the Chiefs probably won’t bring a lot of fight to Allegiant Stadium on Sunday. That’s a scenario no one could have predicted in August.
Nevertheless, a win for the Raiders against their division rival in week 18 would be arguably the most disappointing development of the season.
x: @raidersbeat