Maxx Crosby reacts to Raiders firing Pete Carroll

Few members of the NFL community were surprised when the Las Vegas Raiders relieved head coach Pete Carroll of his duties less than 24 hours after he finished his first season on the job with a record of 3-14. 

During the latest edition of the "Let's Go!" SiriusXM show and podcast, Raiders star pass-rusher Maxx Crosby reacted to the news that could ultimately impact his long-term playing future. 

Pete Carroll was "awesome" to Maxx Crosby

"The one thing I did admire about Pete is he was, I mean, consistent as they come," Crosby told legendary broadcaster Jim Gray, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. "He has won for such a long time. He is a Super Bowl champion. He won a national championship at USC. He has been an incredible coach, and he has had an incredible journey. So, unfortunately, this thing didn’t work out the way we expected it, but he has done an incredible job and had an incredible career, and he was always awesome to me. Still gonna have that relationship regardless." 

Questions about the relationship involving Crosby and Carroll arose after the Raiders controversially shut the 28-year-old down for the rest of the season because of a lingering knee injury in late December. Crosby had been a Carroll supporter, but he made it known ahead of the new year that he was "not happy" he didn't play in Week 17 or Week 18. Without Crosby, the Raiders "earned" the top overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft. 

"Had a lot of coaches in my time to say the least, but all of those coaches, you take something from them, you learn something from them," Crosby continued. "And just we’re back to the process again and trying to figure out whatever that’s gonna be. I wish him the best. Like I said, he was always incredible to me and treated me amazing. Big shout out to Coach Pete, and we’ll see what happens next." 

Specifically, Crosby has had more head coaches (five) than playoff appearances (one) since the Raiders drafted him in 2019. 

Maxx Crosby thought Raiders would be better under Pete Carroll

Crosby signed a three-year, $106.5M contract extension last offseason, and he previously insisted he wanted to play only for the Raiders. That said, it's unknown if he will request a trade or if the combination of Raiders minority owner Tom Brady and general manager John Spytek will view acquiring assets for Crosby as a good business decision for a team in need of a roster rebuild. Spytek is now leading "all football operations in close collaboration with" Brady as the two search for the club's next head coach.

"This season didn’t go the way we expected it at all," Crosby added during the segment. "From the players to the coaches, I don’t think anybody expected we would be in this position and getting the No. 1 pick, to be honest."