The Raiders have stumbled to a 2-5 start in the first year of the Pete Carroll–John Spytek era. Their last two losses, including a 31-0 shutout at the hands of the division rival Chiefs in Week 7, have come by a combined 65 points. While owner Mark Davis is displeased with the team’s results, he’s unsurprisingly not ready to pull the plug on either Carroll or Spytek (via Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal).
“You have to have faith in the people that you hired. And I do,” Davis said. “You’ve got to give them a chance to do the job.”
Notably, Davis hasn’t shown much faith in his head coaching hires in recent years. Since Jon Gruden‘s second run with the franchise came to an end during the 2021 season, four other head coaches have patrolled the sideline.
Although Rich Bisaccia guided the Raiders to a 7-5 record and a playoff berth in the wake of Gruden’s resignation, his time with the organization ended after a wild-card round loss to the Bengals. The Raiders then turned to Josh McDaniels, who went 9-16 before the Raiders gave him the ax in 2023. Interim choice Antonio Pierce took the team to a 5-4 finish as McDaniels’ replacement, leading to a promotion to the full-time post. However, on the heels of a 4-13 showing last year, they dismissed Pierce.
After the Raiders let go of Pierce and GM Tom Telesco, new minority owner Tom Brady joined Davis in taking on a key role in the franchise’s search for replacements. Spytek’s previous ties to Brady from their overlapping tenures with the University of Michigan and the Buccaneers helped him land the job as Telesco’s successor. Ben Johnson, then the Lions’ offensive coordinator and now the Bears’ head coach, was considered a strong candidate to take over for Pierce. Johnson picked the Bears, though the Raiders were not believed to have made Johnson an offer before handing the reins to Carroll.
While Carroll is the oldest head coach in NFL history (at 74), he’s also easily the Raiders’ most established hire since Gruden. He was eminently successful in his previous stop in Seattle, and Carroll’s role in Geno Smith‘s late-career breakthrough with the Seahawks helped lead the quarterback to Las Vegas. The Raiders traded for Smith and then extended him during the offseason, but those decisions look regrettable so far.
Over his first seven games as a Raider, Smith has thrown seven touchdowns against 10 interceptions en route to the league’s 30th-ranked QBR. He struggled enough in Kansas City that the Raiders benched him for Kenny Pickett. That move didn’t provide a spark during a listless showing in which the team mustered just 95 total yards.
While the Raiders are now on a bye, it’ll be a surprise if they don’t continue with Smith when they face the Jaguars in Week 9. Just as the Raiders are exercising patience with Carroll and Spytek, they’re likely to do the same with Smith. It’ll help Smith’s cause if injured tight end Brock Bowers, who has missed three straight games with a knee injury, returns in Week 9.