Jan 19, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll (left) shakes hands with San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh (right) after the 2013 NFC Championship football game at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Raiders' Pete Carroll’s Biggest Rivalry Set To Continue

Originally posted on Las Vegas Raiders on SI
By Fernando Alfaro-Donis | Last updated May 19, 2025 3:00 PM ET

The Las Vegas Raiders set themselves up for success by hiring Pete Carroll to come in and build a new culture in Las Vegas, a culture of winning. He's an experienced head coach who will bring his charisma to the team, while also lighting a fire under his players to play better.

His being the front coach of the Raiders has a lot of ramifications for the league, as now the AFC West adds another talented head coach to their division. The Raiders are hoping this hiring will have the same effect Jim Harbaugh had on the Los Angeles Chargers.

Speaking of Harbaugh, Carroll joining the AFC West also adds another layer of competition between the Raiders and Chargers, as these two head coaches have been on opposing sidelines since college.

While Carroll may not be able to get revenge on his former team, he can certainly look forward to battling it out against an old foe at least two times a year. I'd wager more than that, as I doubt the Chargers or Raiders fire either of them any time soon.

Bucky Brooks is an analyst for NFL.com, and he published an article talking about some of the most underrated matchups for next season. The Raiders and Chargers' week two matchup made his list, with the reason being this historic rivalry between these two legendary head coaches.

"The bitter rivalry between Jim Harbaugh and Pete Carroll makes its way to the AFC West after starting in the Pac-10 (Stanford and USC) and extending into the NFC West (San Francisco and Seattle).

Though this AFC West rivalry between the Chargers and Raiders is already contentious, the heat will only turn up with each coach committed to playing bully ball, looking to utilize physicality and toughness to impose their will.

With Harbaugh and Carroll poised to put targets on each other’s backs, based on their competitiveness and desire to build a division winner and title contender, this early-season clash will reveal a lot about the competitive character of each team in 2025".

Not only will this be a battle between two old foes, but it'll also be a battle between the only two running backs to be taken in the first round of the draft. Ashton Jeanty and Omarion Hampton will be battling it out to see who has a bigger impact on the game, and ultimately, which team won the first round of the NFL draft.

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

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