Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll looks toward the scoreboard during the third quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Jan. 7, 2024. Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

Pete Carroll Offers More Faith vs. Hope to Raiders

Originally posted on Las Vegas Raiders on SI
By Bryan Anthony Davis | Last updated Jun 16, 2025 4:00 PM ET

The Las Vegas Raiders have operated under an umbrella of hope quite a bit in their last few seasons. Josh McDaniels offered hope, and so did Antonio Pierce.

It seemed plausible with both men at the helm that the idea of that hope would blossom into success, but ultimately, both hires never materialized past hope into faith. But it's different with Pete Carroll in the big chair in Las Vegas, hope isn't necessarily applicable here. It's faith.

To validate this point, it's necessary to differentiate between hope and faith first, and there is a tangible contrast between the two. Hope is a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. Faith is that one step beyond, and faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things we don’t see.

For example, when a team drafts a rookie, they have faith that they can perform at the National Football League level, but when you sign a veteran, who has already done it, teams then have faith because there's evidence that the success has already occurred with that individual and the faith that it can happen again.

When Pete Carroll first jumped to the professional ranks for the Seattle Seahawks there was hope that the veteran coach could emulate his success as a champion in the NCAA at USC in the Emerald City. However, here in Vegas there's a known body of work and a storied history of success that the Raiders can go by as a precedent. Hence, the faith.

But the faith is already absolutely evident so far since Carroll was hired to lead the Silver and Black. Pete has done exactly what he has said he would so far. He came in with a résumé and a proven track record of success and a blueprint that has worked everywhere that he has coached.

It was exactly what he told the franchise that he was going to do and he has done it. So now the Raiders are a team that has bought into it in only a few months. He has listened to captains. He doesn't always agree with them, but he is proving that he values their opinions, explains his motivation behind his decision and treats them like the adults in the room that they are while asking them to set the standard of leadership.

If this direction continues, and there's no reason to think that it won't, the Raiders will be able to abandon the reliance on hope, and start keeping the faith.

This article first appeared on Las Vegas Raiders on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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