Pete Carroll reflects on the Las Vegas Raiders' disastrous season, admitting he failed to equip Geno Smith with the talent needed for success.
The Las Vegas Raiders' 2025 season is one that will likely be forgotten quickly.
Last offseason, the Raiders hired Pete Carroll as the head coach in a bit of a surprising move. Then, the Raiders acquired Geno Smith in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks and gave him a two-year, $75 million extension.
Chip Kelly was hired as the offensive coordinator, and the new-look Raiders' regime then got off to a strong start with a Week 1 win over the New England Patriots.
Fast forward to January 2026, and Kelly was fired halfway through the season. Smith threw a total of 17 interceptions in a rough year, and Carroll was fired following a 3-14 finish.
On the second day of NFL free agency's legal tampering period, the Raiders traded Smith to the New York Jets, the same team that selected him in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft.
It's a full circle moment, and Carroll spoke to ESPN's Rich Cimini about Smith returning to the Jets and the way things went in a failed season in Las Vegas.
"I had to chuckle a little bit because of the history and all," Carroll said about the trade.
And, Carroll even took responsibility for not surrounding Smith with enough talent to succeed.
"We should've had him better prepared for the things that happened, and that wouldn't have happened," Carroll said. "I take a lot of responsibility in that. We didn't prepare him well enough in the offseason even though he looked great and we felt we had everything lined up. It was very, very disappointing for us both."
The Las Vegas offensive line was really bad, and Smith being sacked 55 times shows that fact alone.
Smith led the NFL in interceptions and sacks, and while the turnovers were largely his fault, the sacks were a combination of the poor offensive line play, poor play-calling and then Smith's performance.
Carroll says they should've been more aggressive to address the offensive line, and they didn't do that.
"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," Carroll added.
Maybe it is a year too late, but the Raiders wasted no time this free agency upgrading their offensive line. They agreed to terms with Baltimore Ravens' Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum on the first day, which is a massive move for incoming quarterback Fernando Mendoza, assuming he is the choice in the 2026 NFL Draft.
In hindsight, the Smith move was a risky gamble by the Raiders, and giving him an extension before he even played one down was another surprising choice. But, as Carroll said, he accepts the blame for it, and he sure hopes Smith can turn things around with the Jets, which is where he began his NFL career.