Facing another reset, the Raiders eye a new coach and a top draft pick to break their losing streak and rebuild trust.
The Las Vegas Raiders can not wait to turn the page and begin a new chapter. The Pete Carroll experiment failed (who could've seen that coming?)
The Geno Smith looks very bad, and the Chip Kelly OC hire didn't even last a full season. Now the Raiders are hitting the reset button and are looking for a new head coach once again, which seems to be a regular thing.
Eric Edholm of NFL.com had his final regular-season power rankings. Unfortunately, the Raiders remained at the very bottom, which makes sense considering they earned the top pick in the draft.
"All signs point to the team drafting a quarterback this offseason after earning the top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. The Raiders' last-place finish is a reflection of GM John Spytek’s failed Geno Smith trade from the 2025 offseason, but acquiring the veteran always seemed like a transitional move. And speaking of transitions, Vegas will have a new coaching staff in 2026 after the Pete Carroll experiment fell flat. Now all the focus must be on finding a leader who can dispel a losing culture, shepherd a young quarterback and rebuild trust inside and outside of the organization. It could be a monumental offseason for the program, as defensive pillar Maxx Crosby and the team appeared to be on different pages by season’s end, with his future very much hanging in the balance. The Raiders could be a golden rebuilding opportunity, but it’s also a team fraught with issues and major decisions."
The good news is the Raiders have the top pick in the draft and should select a QB, whether it is Oregon Ducks star Dante Moore or Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza.
Nonetheless, this is a season the Raiders, the front office and the fans will want to forget, which is something that has been said quite often over the past half-decade in Las Vegas.
Raiders GM John Spytek has a very, very important hire to make before the ownership decides to do a complete overhaul.
And, it doesn't help that they are in the same division as the Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs and this year's AFC No. 1 seed Denver Broncos.
Once again, the Raiders will be interviewing candidates for the head coaching job, and believe it or not, there are some attractive roster pieces that could bring a hot candidate to Las Vegas to try to turn things around.