Early thoughts on Raiders hiring Pete Carroll as head coach

Super Bowl-winning coach brings experience

The Las Vegas Raiders have hired Pete Carroll as their head coach. Here are some thoughts on the hire:

Big picture:

Carroll has a big-time resume. He’s a Super Bowl winner with 18 years of head-coaching experience and 51 years of coaching experience. He is 170-120-1 as a head coach and is tied for 17th place in coaching wins. He was 137-89-1 in 14 seasons as the coach of the Seattle Seahawks. He’s only had three losing seasons as a head coach. Hard to get any more experience as the Raiders transition from the grossly inexperienced Antonio Pierce era.

Culture change:

That’s the whole attraction to Carroll. His greatest strength in Seattle was building a strong, winning culture. He’s extremely positive and energetic. He connects will to the players. Pierce’s goal was to bring stability to a unstable franchise. he was unable to and made many mistakes in his short tenure. Carroll’s history suggests he will have better success in that area, Source on Carroll on Friday morning, “a tremendous, tremendous culture builder.”

Age factor:

Carroll, who signed a three-year contract with team option for a fourth year, will turn 74 in September and he will be the oldest head coach in NFL history in Week 1. While Carroll is full of energy, the truth is his tenure will likely be in the three-five year range. But given the Raiders’ recent history of coaching turnover, that’s an eternity. So, don’t look at Carroll’s age as a red flag.

Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images

Russ time?

This can happen. Carroll and Russell Wilson won a Super Bowl together and the Raiders’ best approach this season is to have a bridge quarterback. So, expect to hear a lot about a Carroll-Wilson reunion. Wilson, 36, is a free agent. A source close to both Wilson and Carroll told Silver and Black Pride on Friday that the two have made up after a nasty breakup in Seattle and a pairing in Las Vegas would probably appeal to both figures. “I think he brings in Russ. Russ will want it,” the source said.

He’s not Ben Johnson:

The Raiders focused their search on Detroit Lions offensive coordinator, but he went to the Chicago Bears on his first chance. So, the Raiders pivoted from a 38-year-old offensive hot shot to a defensive coach who will be the league’s oldest coach. Odd path.

The search:

In the end, it was a quite interesting, 17-day search for the Raiders. They interviewed seven candidates and also requested to talk to Baltimore offensive Todd Monken. He was the only other offensive coach on their list. There were six defensive coaches interviewed. Other than Carroll, they were Aaron Glenn, Robert Saleh, Vance Joseph, Ron Rivera and Steve Spagnuolo. It’s a bit strange the Raiders didn’t look at other young offensive-minded coaches such as Joe Brady, Kellen Moore or Liam Coen.

Relationship with John Spytek:

Carroll and new Raiders’ general manager John Spytek don’t have a history, but expect them to work well together. They are both known as good team players.

Not married to Cover 3:

Carroll’s time in Seattle ended because his vaunted defense sagged. He went away from his famous Cover 3 defense and don’t expect it to be a major factor in Las Vegas moving forward.

Loves Raiders commitment to former players:

Don’t be surprised if you hear Carroll rave about the Raiders’ and Mark Davis’ treatment of former players. A source close to Carroll, who grew up in the Bay Area, said he admired it from afar in Seattle and really appreciates how the alumni so treated. Expect him to embrace that know that he is a member of the organization.

Carroll’s next staff:

A source said it would not be a surprise if Carroll tries to retain Patrick Graham as defensive coordinator. His contract is up after three seasons in Las Vegas. Other candidates for positions on his staff are Darrell Bevell, former Raiders’ defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, Nick Sorenson, his son Nate Carroll and Brian Schneider.

Power division:

Carroll joins Andy Reid and Sean Payton as Super Bowl-winning coaches in the AFC West. The other coach, Jim Harbaugh, has been to a Super Bowl and has won a NCAA title as Carroll did at USC. This is an excellent division and the Raiders are the worst team, by a fairly wide margin, but Carroll will not be intimidated by it.

Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

Renewing rivalry:

Carroll and Harbaugh were (sometimes heated) rivals in the Pac-12 and in the NFC West. Now, they’re close rivals again. Expect to see a few prime-time meetings between the Raiders and Chargers in the coming seasons.

Not a lot of competition:

Carroll wasn’t a hot name in the coaching cycle despite there were seven openings. He was one of 15 candidates to interview in Chicago and he had an informal talk with the Cowboys.

Brady influence:

Raiders’ part owner Tom Brady was a big part of this hiring process. he wanted Johnson. But he is said to be on board with Carroll because he appreciates his winning history and experience. Now, Brady joins forces with a coach he beat in a classic Super Bowl.

Maxx thoughts:

Raiders’ star defensive end Maxx Crosby has said this will be an interesting offseason and he was closely watching what will happen this coaching hire. This is just a guess, but I think Crosby and Carroll would work well together and Crosby will be impressed. Don’t be surprised if the Raiders give Crosby some new guaranteed money on his contract (they have plenty of salary-cap room) and Carroll aims to build his culture around Crosby.