The Las Vegas Raiders seem to be done with the games and are very likely hiring Pete Carroll to be their new head coach. This is actually a slam-dunk hire by the Raiders, and it makes life a lot harder for the Denver Broncos. Denver seemed to actually make some noticeable progress against the Raiders in 2024.
They swept them for the first time in about a decade, and it got to the point where Denver had a longer losing streak against the Raiders than they did against the Kansas City Chiefs. Vegas has been a dumpster fire for years now, and Pete Carroll coming on as their new head coach is truly a great move.
The #Raiders are turning their attention to former #Seahawks Super Bowl-winning coach Pete Carroll with hopes he’ll be their new HC, per me and @TomPelissero.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 24, 2025
The two sides are in negotiations. Attempting to change the culture in Las Vegas, the Raiders target one of the best. pic.twitter.com/7wq7aChSs4
The Raiders did something... good??
The Super Bowl champion has won 170 games in the NFL and is a borderline Hall of Fame head coach. He is 73 years old but always exudes an energy that would make you think he's still in his 40s. The most notable connection here with Carroll is when he was with the Seattle Seahawks, as Seattle and Denver had done some business a couple of years ago with Russell Wilson.
Wilson and Seattle seemed to have a pretty ugly divorce. Carroll was out of the NFL in 2024 and not coaching a team. After a year to get charged back up, he'll land in the AFC West with Sean Payton, Andy Reid, and Jim Harbaugh.
Could this be the best head coach division in the history of the NFL? It just might be. A team that the Broncos seemed to finally ascend over in 2024 may be on the right track to being relevant again. I am insanely curious to see what his plan is going to be on offense.
We can expect Carroll and the Raiders to field a strong defense, but where do they go for the QB spot? Only time will tell there, but after trying and failing with Antonio Pierce, Vegas brings in a sure-thing at the position. In a year where the Denver Broncos also made a ton of positive progress in the AFC itself, we simply cannot disregard the Las Vegas Raiders anymore.
And heck, even the New England Patriots hiring Mike Vrabel to be their new head coach is also not the most ideal scenario for the rest of the conference. Hopefully Denver is far enough ahead of the Raiders that they can still beat up on them for another year or two.