Vegas Has a Coach, Now Can They Fix the QB Problem?
The search for a new coach to lead the silver and black has come to an end as the Las Vegas Raiders announced soon to be 74-year-old Pete Carroll as the next man up back in January.
Carroll, fresh off a year break as a head coach, will hope to pick up where he left off in Seattle in which he tallied 137 career wins, a Super Bowl title and two NFC championships.
Carroll brings the big name alongside an impressive resume of career accomplishments, something not unique to new Vegas coaches.
For example, Jon Gruden and Josh McDaniel’s both came with their reasons for hope and optimism in the name of super bowl trophies, only to crash out in Sin City.
When those “coaching pedigree” types didn’t work out, Vegas turned to a former player type of coach hoping to capture those Dan Campbell vibes in Detroit.
Interim head coach turned lead man, Antonio Pierce, made it to the end of the season this year before Vegas decided that 4-13 wasn’t going to cut it, letting Pierce go with a 9-17 record in a year and a half.
So where did that get Tom Brady, Mark Davis and company?
Right back to the big name coach with past accomplishments.
By no means was bringing in Carroll a bad move, it has Raider nation feeling some optimism and rightfully so bringing in a proven winner, but the question lingers in every black hole member’s mind: “Will this end the coaching carousel from hell?”
Vegas will be on their 5th coach in 5 years and is notorious for having to pay Jon Gruden, Josh McDaniel's and now Antonio Pierce to NOT coach.
As a team who has qualified for the postseason only two times since 2002 (their last playoff victory) the mad dash for consistency has resulted in no such thing.
Will Carroll change that?
History and Stats would tell you consistency is a byproduct of the 19 year Head Coach.
After all, spending 14 years with a single franchise isn’t easy to do, not to mention double digit winning seasons in 8 of those and a winning record in 11.
Yet with all the damage done to Raiders fans, they will believe it when they see it.
If Carroll is going to be successful it starts at one place and one place alone.
It should shock no one to know that the Raiders success will lean heavily on the quarterback spot.
Just like coaches, the Raiders have a troubled past of inconsistent quarterback play that has ranged from above average to just plain atrocious.
Current New Orleans Saint QB turned retiree, Derek Carr, one of the most polarizing players of the modern NFL, is the teams franchise leader in passing yards and touchdowns while legitimately playing the best football Raiders fans have seen at the Quarterback position since Ken Stabler was under center in the 70’s.
That isn’t to put down Carr or ignore players like Jim Plunkett and Rich Gannon, but consistent quarterback play rarely shines through for the Raiders, in Oakland or Las Vegas.
And when that consistent factor does arrive, it’s never elevated to levels that other franchise’s quarterbacks seem to hit.
Pete Carroll spent the bulk of his time in Seattle with Russell Wilson, prime Russell Wilson that is.
Like, 8-time Pro Bowler, All-Pro Russell Wilson.
And he will likely desire, let alone, need, better quarterback play to achieve his own expectations, meaning what the Raiders have done the past handful of years simply will not do.
Las Vegas is trying to buck the trend of mediocre to just bad quarterback play by bringing in another man with Seattle Seahawks ties in Geno Smith.
Smith has been labeled a “franchise savior” a “bust” a “great backup” and a “solid/ above average starter” all within the span of 11 years.
What you get with Smith is a player who has been written off before, but has never written back.
Smith steps in as a starting quarterback who has been a proven commodity the past three seasons and immediately becomes one of the highest upside players to go under center for the silver and black.
Geno is coming off a 21 touchdown to 15 interception outing last season, but is only three years removed from being the NFL’s comeback player of the year in 2022 under then head coach, you guessed it, Pete Carroll.
For context, if Smith is rejuvenated under a reunion with Pete and can get back to that 30 touchdown meter, and that’s simply a hypothetical, he would join only two other Raiders to achieve such a number.
Daryle Lamonica did it twice in 1967 and 1969 and then the aforementioned Derek Carr had 32 touchdown tosses in 2015.
Point is if you can get the best out of Geno, he can do what few Raider quarterbacks have done before him and he could restore the love of the game to sin city.
If he doesn’t? Well at least the Raiders took a shot on a bonafide starter this time around.
Because outside of Derek Carr led Raider team’s, the silver and black haven’t had a season since 2002 where a quarterback has started every game on the season.
That means in 22 years, the Raiders have had multiple quarterbacks start games in 16 of those seasons.
7 of those seasons have seen at least three new Raiders starting quarterbacks under center as the season progresses.
Outside of some solid years with Carr the Raiders have seen the revolving door at the quarterback spot change names but never status.
From Jason Campbell, Daunte Culpepper, Matt McGloin and Charlie Frye to Aidan O’Connell, Desmond Ridder and Jarrett Stidham, the more things change the more they stay the same.
If Vegas wants to shed the trope of come and go coaches, it starts with their reality of come and go quarterbacks.
Pete Carroll and Geno Smith reunited could end that as soon as this year.
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