The Extreme Way Pete Carroll Won Over Raiders Locker Room

Originally posted on Las Vegas Raiders on SI
By Michael Canelo | Last updated Sep 15, 2025 9:00 AM ET

The Las Vegas Raiders have started the way they wanted to, but they know they still have to do a lot more to gain respect around the National Football League.

For the Silver and Black to even be in a position to do that after what they have gone through as a franchise the last few seasons is something that was hard to see. This offseason was a good one for the Raiders, and it all started with their hiring of the oldest head coach, Pete Carroll.

Carroll was itching to get back to the NFL after taking one season off. He spent time away from the league but was still around football a lot. And that is when he figured out that he was going to do whatever it took to get back to coaching in the NFL. Once the Raiders came calling, Carroll was ready, and they gave him the keys to the dark side, and he has taken off with the team ever since.

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Since coming to Carroll wanted his team to compete and to bring the energy every day. If you were not with that, you were not going to play for this Raiders team and Carroll. He has brought the energy each day that he has been here. From minicamps, training camp, and now into the season. The energy is coming from Carroll, and it is not going to stop, and that is something the Raiders need from their head coach.

Pete Carroll

"On the Saturday night before their season opener on Sept. 7, Pete Carroll used the stage of his first pregame meeting with the Raiders to kick through a whiteboard in dramatic fashion, leading to pandemonium in the room in a moment those present won't soon forget," said NFL Insider Ian Rapport. "With the whiteboard obliterated, the end result on Sunday was a 20-13 victory over the Patriots."

Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

"One source described Carroll like a WWE wrestler cutting a promo, showing the team that it didn't fly to New England to mess around. The Raiders came to compete. The blasted whiteboard was the fallout."

"That's just Pete," one person in the room said. "That's how he turns the culture around."

"Who knows what theatrics are in store for Monday's pregame meeting, which happens to land on Carroll's 74th birthday. But a high bar has been set."

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

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