Whether Pete Carroll can revive the Raiders is anybody’s guess, but I’m here for it

How great is it to see Pete Carroll back in the NFL as coach of the Raiders?

We haven’t even seen him on the field yet chomping his gum and throwing spirals in pre-game warmups, slapping his players on the back, always encouraging, an optimistic and upbeat presence at all times.

There are so many things about people like Carroll that I will never understand - from having that perpetually sunny image to wanting to continue to work at the age of 73.

Yet a lot of us hope to look and act like him at 73, sporting a youthful appearance and bouncing around like he’s a kid.

As an older person myself at 67, I love that the Raiders took a shot with him, realizing it’s not a long-term shot but a good shot nonetheless. I’ve personally found that age discrimination is actually a thing, and the Raiders basically said the hell with that, we think this guy has a terrific track record and we want him to turn us into a Super Bowl contender.

Naturally you could look at the Raiders and say good luck with that even if Carroll is undeniably a coach with Hall of Fame credentials. They’ll have to get past Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert every year in the AFC West, and the Broncos, under Sean Payton, made the playoffs in 2024.

You’d think with the Raiders being 4-13 last year that maybe they’d hire a younger coach to allow for the rebuilding process. But in the NFL turnarounds can happen overnight, and besides, even if it takes some time, who would doubt that Carroll could still be coaching at the age of 80? Not me, that’s for sure.

I’ll be just as interested in watching Raiders’ games as Seahawks’ games this fall just to see how Carroll’s team is doing and to just see him period, going hatless and throwing useless challenge flags all over again.

It will be even more intriguing if the Raiders sign a certain free agent from Pittsburgh, the quarterback on the Seahawks’ only championship team, Russell Wilson. If Carroll and Wilson are reunited, how much fun would that be? Could they re-create what they accomplished in Seattle?

The answer, of course, is likely not, and that’s based more on Wilson’s declining skills than anything to do with Carroll. Then again, Wilson seemed rejuvenated in Pittsburgh, leading the Steelers to the playoffs and might have something left in his career, especially with Carroll playing to his strengths and hiding his weaknesses like he did with the Seahawks.

Now that they’ve failed in their attempt to bring Matthew Stafford to Las Vegas, the Raiders should make Wilson a solid Plan B, and they’re lucky I’m not the general manager because I’d push for Gardner Minshew to have been their Plan A all along.

I’m in the bag for Minshew because he’s a Coug, which prevents me from writing about him objectively. Problem is, most view him as an average NFL quarterback at best and the Raiders are prepared to move on from him because they don’t think he’s worth the $11.8 million he’s due this season.

That leaves the nothing special Aidan O’Connell and Carter Bradley, a second-year player from South Alabama, in the quarterbacks room. Clearly an upgrade is needed for Carroll to be successful.

Drafting No. 6 overall, the Raiders could possibly draft Shedeur Sanders and give him the job right away. That could exceed the Minshew fun factor with Sanders and Coach Prime showing up to watch his kid play on The Strip while yukking it up with Carroll before home games.

Or maybe they’ll opt for Ashton Jeanty to spark a team that was last in rushing in the NFL in 2024, and we all know how much Carroll values the running game after what Marshawn Lynch and Chris Carson did for him in Seattle.

I always enjoyed his podium sessions with the media at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center, and it was good to see him back last week in Indianapolis at the NFL combine, holding court again.

Carroll spoke about his unending love for the 12’s and plans to keep his home in the Seattle area.

“They were great years,” he said.

That they were, ending after the 2023 season when Carroll was basically fired not for failing but for not being quite good enough. A guy half his age, Mike Macdonald, was hired to replace him.

When Carroll arrived in Seattle in 2010, I read his book entitled “Win Forever,” which documented his philosophy toward life and football. Back then I wanted to stick my finger down my throat at that “Win Forever” stuff, like yeah right, Pete, no one wins forever.

But maybe he really will and prove it in Vegas of all places. And in the ultimate scenario, how cool would it be if in 2027 or 2028, Pete’s Raiders with Wilson still at quarterback faced the Seahawks in the Super Bowl?

Sign me up right now for that.

Jim Moore has covered Washington’s sports scene from every angle for multiple news outlets. He appears Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 10 a.m. on Jason Puckett’s podcast at PuckSports.com. He writes a Substack blog at jimmoorethego2guy.substack.com. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) @cougsgo.

This story was originally published March 4, 2025 at 10:28 AM.