The Las Vegas Raiders have been a bit of a wild card in the NFL’s head coaching carousel. After making the decision to move on from Antonio Pierce — who went from the team’s interim coach, to the team’s full-time coach, to unemployed in the span of about 14 months — the Raiders cast a wide net, with names ranging from up-and-coming coaches like Ben Johnson, to more established names like Bill Belichick.
Ultimately, the team decided to go with a veteran coach. According to multiple reports, Las Vegas made the decision to hire longtime Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, who stepped down in Seattle on the heels of the 2023 season. In all, Carroll spent 14 seasons in Seattle, won a Super Bowl, and accrued a 137-89-1 record.
Carroll, who turns 74 in September and is going to be the oldest coach in NFL history, will join the Raiders on a three-year deal with an option for a fourth year. He’ll take over a franchise that went 4-13 last year and is starved for success, as the Raiders have only made the playoffs twice since winning the Super Bowl in 2002. One of his first major decisions will be figuring out who will be his starting quarterback — the team has Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew on the roster, while they’re currently sitting with the sixth pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and the assumption is that both of the top QBs in this class (Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward) will be off the board by then.
Following the Raiders making their decision, the only teams that are still looking to make head coaching hires are the Dallas Cowboys and the New Orleans Saints.