A year after leaving his post as the Seattle Seahawks' head coach, Pete Carroll surprised everyone by returning to the NFL. Joining the Las Vegas Raiders as their head coach, Carroll was given another chance to prove that he's still got the skills to lead a team in the NFL.
So far, Carroll seems to be doing a great job. His Raiders won their first game of the 2025 season, beating the New England Patriots in a tough contest. Perhaps Carroll's pre-game antics before their Week 1 tilt helped fire up his team to start the year.
“On the Saturday night before their season opener on Sept. 7, Pete Carroll used the stage of his first pregame meeting with the Raiders to kick through a whiteboard in dramatic fashion, leading to pandemonium in the room in a moment those present won't soon forget,” Ian Rapoport said on his report for NFL.com “With the whiteboard obliterated, the end result on Sunday was a 20-13 victory over the Patriots.”
According to Rapoport's source, Carroll seemed like a WWE star cutting a promo in front of an audience. The grand display clearly worked, as Las Vegas was able to fight through adversity against a surprisingly tough Patriots squad. They fended off New England's continued attempts to come back into the game, thanks in large part to their defense making Drake Maye's life a living nightmare.
The Raiders underwent a major retooling during the offseason to accommodate Carroll's designs for the team. They traded for former Seahawks QB and Carroll protégé Geno Smith and drafted Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty. Smith had a solid first game as a Raider, completing 70.6% of his passes for 362 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Jeanty, meanwhile, struggled in his first NFL game, notching just 38 yards on 19 carries.
The Raiders are now set to face off against a Los Angeles Chargers team coming off the high of beating the Kansas City Chiefs for the first time since 2021. This Week 2 matchup will be an early battle for control of the AFC West. Will Carroll channel his inner Randy Savage again and hype up his team to victory?
