Jun 10, 2025; Henderson, NV, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith (7) and head coach Pete Carroll during Las Vegas Raiders Minicamp at Intermountain Health Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images Candice Ward-Imagn Images

Raiders' Pete Carroll on the Geno Smith Blockbuster

Originally posted on Las Vegas Raiders on SI
By Michael Canelo | Last updated Jun 23, 2025 8:00 AM ET

Geno Smith is now the man for the Las Vegas Raiders. Smith will take over at the quarterback position for the Silver and Black and try to give them the quarterback they have been looking for the last couple of years.

New head coach Pete Carroll and new general manager John Spytek traded for the quarterback they wanted, in Smith. Smith gives the Raiders a massive upgrade for the team. They have been looking for a quarterback like Smith for a long time.

Now that they have him, he will build that chemistry with the team and all the coaches. He reunites with Carroll after they spent time together in Seattle, and Carroll helped Smith turn his career around.

The expectations for the team have gone up. There is no secret that the team wants to play in the most important games at the end of the season, but they have to do all the small things right from the offseason all the way through the season. And now they have the right man leading them on the field at the most important position in the NFL.

"There is a connection of the impact that the guy can have on everybody else," said Carroll on the Get Got Pod. "The years that we spent together, the years that he was not playing, were the most significant years to me. Because he exemplified this mentality that I have not seen in everyone else. I would really tell you that he thought that every play he was going to be in every play. And somehow he held on to that kind of focus. He never lost it, he did not waver."

"Every play that the other guy was taking, it might be his last play and he might be ready, and he needs to be ready to go. And, you know, he had been through some pain and some hardship, and stuff like that, but the time we got him, he came with this mentality."

"When he finally got a chance, he did great. And a lot of people were surprised, he was comeback player of the year, you know, the first year he started and all that ... So, to get him to come to ... oh man, it is so significant because he is awesome. Every day, first guy on, last guy off."