The Las Vegas Raiders have fired head coach Pete Carroll after just one season, the team announced on Monday. The decision comes on the heels of a dismal 3-14 campaign in 2025, marking one of the worst records in franchise history and securing the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft.
Carroll, the oldest head coach in NFL history at 74, was brought in last January to stabilize a franchise plagued by instability. Hired on January 25, 2025, following the dismissal of Antonio Pierce, Carroll’s arrival generated optimism. He reunited with quarterback Geno Smith via a trade, signed the highest-paid offensive coordinator in league history in Chip Kelly, and inherited a roster featuring young talents like tight end Brock Bowers and rookie running back Ashton Jeanty (selected No. 6 overall in 2025).
The optimism quickly faded. The Raiders started with a Week 1 win over the New England Patriots but managed only two more victories the rest of the way, enduring a 10-game losing streak before snapping it with a 14-12 victory over a backup-heavy Kansas City Chiefs team in the season finale. Las Vegas ranked dead last in several offensive categories, including points per game (around 14.2) and total yards, while the defense struggled with philosophical mismatches.
Midseason turmoil highlighted the dysfunction: Carroll fired special teams coordinator Tom McMahon in early November and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly shortly after, moves uncharacteristic of his typically stable tenures. Quarterback Geno Smith regressed sharply, leading the league in interceptions (17), while Jeanty had a disappointing rookie year behind a struggling offensive line.
“The Las Vegas Raiders have relieved Pete Carroll of his duties as head coach,” owner Mark Davis said in a statement. Davis added that general manager John Spytek, hired alongside Carroll last offseason, will remain and lead football operations “in close collaboration with minority owner Tom Brady,” who is expected to play a significant role in the upcoming coaching search.
Carroll, who expressed a desire to return after the finale and denied any retirement discussions, ends his Raiders stint with the worst winning percentage of his 19-season NFL head coaching career. His legacy remains tied to Seattle, where he won Super Bowl XLVIII and compiled a 137-89-1 regular-season record over 14 years.
The firing marks the Raiders’ third consecutive offseason with a head coaching change and their fifth full-time coach since 2021. With the top draft pick—likely targeting a franchise quarterback such as Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza or another top prospect—and young pieces like Bowers and defensive star Maxx Crosby (whose future remains uncertain amid reported tensions), the job could attract high-profile candidates.
However, the Raiders’ history of organizational turnover and lack of sustained success since their 2002 Super Bowl appearance will test any new hire’s patience. As Black Monday unfolds across the league, Las Vegas once again finds itself at a crossroads, hoping this reset finally breaks the cycle of mediocrity.
