Brutal season, offensive struggles, and coordinator firings paint a grim picture. NFL insider reports suggest a stormy future for Pete Carroll in Las Vegas.
As any Las Vegas Raiders fan would tell you, the conclusion of the 2025 season cannot come soon enough. At a 2-12 record and in position to get the first overall selection in next spring’s draft, Raiders fans would like to see the season end today, once and for all.
There’s no more hope available in Las Vegas, despite the huge amount that the beginning of the season brought. The Raiders were expected to do much, much more in 2025. The first big piece set into place last offseason was the hiring of Pete Carroll as the team’s new head coach, taking over for Antonio Pierce, who led the Raiders to nine wins and 17 losses in two seasons.
Bringing in Carroll was supposed to act as a culture-shifting moment, bringing in a Super Bowl-winning coach who demanded respect from opposing teams every week. The Raiders dove all in on Carroll, even trading for his former quarterback, Geno Smith, from the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for a third-round pick.
As it turns out, the Raiders may have been too confident in Carroll’s ability to turn things around in Las Vegas. With just two wins in his first 14 games as the head coach, it’s clear Carroll hasn’t been able to live up to his lofty expectations for his team in 2025.
His quarterback of choice, Smith, has been one of the NFL’s worst this season, throwing just 16 touchdowns to 14 interceptions. The Las Vegas offense has put up the least amount of yards per game in the NFL this season, with just 244. Of course, this means the Raiders have failed to put up points, also ranking dead last in points per game with 14. It’s inexcusable for Carroll and the Raiders offense, and the patience is running extremely thin in Las Vegas.
Carroll’s future in Las Vegas has been called into question countless times as the season has progressed, despite him signing a three-year deal with a fourth-year option earlier this year. NFL insider Ian Rapoport gave the latest on Carroll’s position with the Raiders on Sunday’s NFL Gameday Morning.
“Safe to say that, based on reporting from [The Insiders] that Pete Carroll’s future is in doubt in Las Vegas,” Rapoport said. “It has been a brutal, brutal season. His hand-picked quarterback, Geno Smith, has been among the worst in the NFL. He has fired not one, but two coordinators, including Chip Kelly. The offense has been a mess, and they have not won in a very long time.”
It’s no surprise that Carroll’s future is in doubt, considering the stark difference in expectations vs reality this season has seen for the silver and black. Heading into 2026, it may be best for the Raiders to cut ties with Carroll, hoping to shove the memory of 2025 out of fans' minds as they attempt to rebuild their roster back into a competent team. Carroll, however, will continue fighting for his job as the 2025 season wraps up.