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New Orleans Saints great Drew Brees is a big fan of the Las Vegas Raiders' decision to hire Pete Carroll as their head coach.
The Raiders made waves when they hired Super Bowl champion Pete Carroll as their new head coach prior to the Super Bowl. Carroll is one of the most accomplished coaches in the league, building a winning program with the Seattle Seahawks as their head coach from 2010 until 2023. In fact, Carroll's Seahawks defeated Brees' Saints in a 41-36 playoff upset during his first season in Seattle, a game in which New Orleans was favored by 10.
Brees knows all too well what Carroll brings to the table, having gone against him in NFC competition during Brees' tenure with the Saints and having played for the 73-year-old head coach during the Pro Bowl in the 2019 season.
“I think it's a great fit,” says Brees in a one-on-one interview while speaking on his investment with Sports Illustrated Tickets. “It's hard to believe Pete Carroll's in his 70s because he's such an energetic guy. I had him in the Pro Bowl in 2019. He's such a fun guy to be around.
“Loves the game, loves ball,” Brees continued about the new Raiders HC. “Every coach that has coached with him, they kind of feed off of that enthusiasm. Players do as well.”
The results speak volumes regarding Carroll's greatness. In 14 seasons as the Seahawks head coach, Seattle went to the playoffs 10 times, clinched the division five times and made two consecutive Super Bowl trips. In fact, they were one yard away from winning a second Vince Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl XLIX.
Although the Seahawks struggled a bit during his latter years — they won just one playoff game after the 2016 season — Carroll still won 60.6% of his games during his tenure in Seattle.
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That's not even mentioning his ridiculously successful tenure in college with the USC Trojans where he won two national championships and transformed the Trojans into a powerhouse program after being a 5-7 team prior to his tenure.
“I think that combined with just his experience and wisdom, obviously he's been a head coach for a really long time, and won championships at every level,” says Brees. “I think he brings a sense of real professionalism and here's how we do things and accountability and competitiveness. I think he's a great fit from that perspective because I think it seems like he brings some structure as well, so I think that's a good thing.”
The task obviously won't be easy with the Raiders considering they're lacking a franchise quarterback and haven't won a playoff game since the 2002 season. Furthermore, they're coming off of a 4-13 campaign where they ranked 29th in points and 25th in points allowed.
Carroll just so happens to be coaching in the toughest division in football in the AFC West where Andy Reid serves as the head coach of the AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs, Jim Harbaugh is leading the Los Angeles Chargers and Sean Payton is coaching the Denver Broncos. All three teams made it to the playoffs last season.
We'll see if Carroll can revive the Raiders, but Brees definitely approves of the decision.
