Pete Carroll plays a factor in season outcomes for Raiders

The most notable change between this season and last for the Las Vegas Raiders has to be the move from Antonio Pierce to Pete Carroll as head coach.

While Pierce earned the respect of the locker room for steadying the ship as interim head coach in 2023, his inexperience resulted in questionable decisions and ultimately being fired after his first full season as full-time head coach. That is no such problem for Carroll, who comes to Las Vegas with Super Bowl-winning pedigree and decades of experience. While there are some concerns about how Carroll’s approach translates to the modern NFL, he has mentioned that he has gotten comfortable with analytics after taking last season off of football, promising a new-age twist on his playcalling.

That is precisely why, no matter what the end result of this season is for the Raiders, Carroll will be a major part of it.

Is there a chance for things to go wrong with Carroll and the Raiders?

According to Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine, Carroll’s new Raiders offense will be pivotal in the team enjoying the best-case scenario for their season.

“The Raiders offense might be the most transformed unit of the offseason. The days of a Gardner Minsew II-Aidan O’Connell quarterback battle feel like ancient history with Pete Carroll reuniting with Geno Smith,” Ballentine wrote.

“Ashton Jeanty’s arrival gives the unit an old-school Carroll feel, with the Boise State star potentially filling the Marshawn Lynch role from from some of the coach’s best Seahawks teams.”

Despite the Raiders emulating the approach of Carroll with the Seattle Seahawks being a positive sign, it is not an infallible strategy, as Ballentine outlined in the worst-case scenario.

“Smith threw 20 touchdowns to nine interceptions with an 8-7 record as starter in Carroll’s final season as Seahawks head coach. That was with DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba at receiver. Now Carroll is 73, the Raiders don’t have that kind of lineup at receiver, and Smith is another year older,” Ballentine continued.

“There’s a chance the trade for Smith doesn’t give Las Vegas the stability it was looking for in this regime.”

With the receiving corps being listed as the biggest question mark for the Raiders, there is a chance that Smith’s first season in Las Vegas does not go according to plan.

Despite that, however, the Raiders still have tight end Brock Bowers, who should be the focal point of the passing attack. Jakobi Meyers is coming off his first 1,000-yard season, and the Raiders have high hopes for rookies Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton Jr. to add more options. Assuming injuries do not come into play, the receivers could be a non-issue as the season rolls along.

While Smith is not a silver bullet for the Raiders’ woes last season, it is hard to imagine there will not be some form of improvement.