Here’s the twist almost no one saw coming: Pete Carroll, not Chip Kelly, appears to have held the reins of the Raiders’ offense during Kelly’s ill-fated stint in Las Vegas. And that may explain a lot about why the team’s attack has been one of the NFL’s worst this year.
Just weeks after handing Kelly a lucrative $6 million-per-year deal to bring his innovative, fast-paced schemes back to the pro game, the Raiders pulled the plug. The firing came swiftly after a crushing Week 12 loss to the Browns — a defeat that left Las Vegas dead last in the league in scoring, managing a meager 15 points per game. The running game, despite boasting sixth-overall draft pick Ashton Jeanty, never came alive, making the offense appear both predictable and lifeless.
At first glance, the move shocked many. After all, Kelly’s offensive résumé in both college and the NFL suggested he’d have freedom to fully build his system. But according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, that wasn’t the case. Vegas’ 2025 offense looked nothing like Kelly’s past dynamic units — and everything like a Pete Carroll playbook. The reason? Carroll was far more involved than expected.
Reports describe Kelly as frustrated, even blindsided, by Carroll’s ‘heavy-handed’ approach to shaping the play-calling and offensive identity. Rival defensive coordinators reportedly said the Raiders’ plays looked almost identical to what Carroll ran in his final year with the Seahawks. Keeping some of those elements made sense — but the overall result? A mismatched offense that never found direction.
Then there’s the quarterback situation. Geno Smith, reunited with Carroll after being traded to Vegas, has struggled mightily. With a league-leading 13 interceptions and the lowest passer rating of his career, Smith’s return to familiar coaching hasn’t sparked improvement. Instead, it’s reopened the team’s most familiar wound: uncertainty at quarterback. And that’s not the only leadership question looming. Rumors are already swirling that Carroll himself might not survive beyond this season.
Adding even more intrigue, minority owner Tom Brady — reportedly a key voice in personnel moves — is said to have strongly backed hiring Kelly in the first place. If that’s true, it raises difficult questions about how Brady, owner Mark Davis, and general manager John Spytek will navigate Carroll’s future. Their decision in the months ahead could reset the entire offensive direction going into 2026.
For now, Greg Olson will take over play-calling duties as the Raiders limp through the final stretch of a 2–9 season. Many expect Las Vegas to finally shift its focus toward player development, especially with younger talent still waiting for extended snaps. Yet Rapoport notes a deeper issue: a disconnect between Carroll’s demand to ‘win now’ and the harsh reality of a rebuilding roster that simply isn’t built to compete yet.
The Raiders have now dropped five straight games and sit on the brink of mathematical elimination from playoff contention. The question is no longer just whether the offense can recover — it’s whether Carroll’s vision for this team is sustainable at all. Will the Raiders double down on his influence, or has his control already cost them the identity they hoped Kelly would bring?
But here’s where fans are split: Should a veteran coach like Carroll be making those calls, or should the team have stood by Kelly’s system a little longer? Drop your take — was Pete Carroll’s involvement a necessary correction or the very thing that doomed the Raiders’ offense?
