Pete Carroll has always been a loyal person, both as a human being and a football coach. That should earn him respect overall, but it might not earn him many wins. After being removed from his coaching duties with the Seattle Seahawks, he is now with the Las Vegas Raiders. So far, so bad.
Carroll deserves a bunch of the blame, of course. He is the head coach, and that simply comes with the job. But the Raiders are an awful 2-5, and a big issue has been former Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith. Smith's volatile attitude and potential lack of leadership are one reason he isn't with Seattle. It's one reason he is ruining Carroll's next best chance.
The quarterback was acquired by the Raiders in a trade this past offseason. In return, Seattle receives a third-round 2025 draft pick. The Seahawks used that on quarterback Jalen Milroe. Milroe has rarely played and still has not been as bad as Smith.
Former Seattle Seahawks QB1 Geno Smith is going to run Pete Carroll out of a job with the Raiders too
Just like his days with Seattle, Smith makes terrible decisions, such as holding on to the ball too long and taking bad sacks when he could have tried to run for a first down or missed an open receiver. He leads the NFL in interceptions since the beginning of the 2024 season.
In Week 7 against the Kansas City Chiefs, an overwhelmed Geno Smith and his Raiders offense had just 84 total yards when Smith was replaced by backup quarterback Kenny Pickett in the fourth quarter. The team trailed 31-0. Smith had gone 10 for 16 passing for just 67 yards.
Is Geno Smith the only reason that Pete Carroll's Las Vegas Raiders are so awful? No, but it's not a coincidence that Carroll was let go after the 2023 season while his last Seahawks team struggled with an inefficient offense (one that especially struggled with consistency) led by Smith.
Carroll talking the Raiders into trading for Geno Smith might have been the start of the end of the head coach's career. Is Pete Carroll going to be fired by the Raiders? Likely, not yet. But he probably isn't the long-term option for Vegas.
He should be, though, if he can shed himself of his loyalty to Geno Smith. Smith needs to be out of a job after 2025. Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider appeared to know that this offseason. Too bad Pete Carroll didn't.