The end was seemingly clear for a while now. Pete Carroll was not going to make it to season two with the Las Vegas Raiders. The most successful head coach in Seattle Seahawks was likely always doomed in Las Vegas. He brought some of that on himself.
According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, the Raiders fired Carroll a day after Vegas's 2025 season ended. His team went a dismal 3-14 this season, but will have the top pick in the 2026 NFL draft. Las Vegas also beat the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 18, so at least Carroll went out a winner.
But Pete Carroll, who went to two Super Bowls with the Seahawks and was the head coach when the franchise won its only championship (so far), was always a bit too loyal for his own good. Loyalty is a great trait for a human being, but it can be awful for a football coach.
Former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll officially fired by the Las Vegas Raiders
The former Raiders head coach needed to adjust his approach and not always rely on his former players and coaches to build future success. After Carroll was hired by the Raiders last offseason, the team acquired quarterback Geno Smith from Seattle, signed Jamal Adams, and also eventually ended up with Stone Forsythe and Tyler Lockett.
All of those players were no longer with the Seattle Seahawks because general manager John Schneider no longer thought they could help his team win games. The GM was right. Seattle is 14-3, has the top seed in the NFC, and new head coach Mike Macdonald has built an elite defense.
Pete Carroll, though, is very unlikely to be hired as a head coach anywhere else. His age works against him. He is 74 years old, was easily the oldest head coach in the NFL in 2025, and most teams that need a head coach like to try a rebuild with a younger coach who can help reset the team's culture long-term. Carroll can no longer do that.
Still, he should always be remembered fondly by Seahawks fans. He was a positive person, a likable guy, and a good human being. Seattle was right to move on from him after the 2023 season, but the move was an emotionally difficult one. Pete Carroll had been too successful for too long to make for an easy goodbye. Raiders fans will not feel the same way.