Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll pushes over the first domino in what could lead to many more falling over
Pete Carroll and the Raiders have fired special teams coordinator Tom McMahon.
The Las Vegas Raiders made a bit of a surprising move on Friday, the day after they lost to the Denver Broncos 10-7 on Thursday Night Football. Pete Carroll and John Spytek made the decision to fire special teams coordinator Tom McMahon, who was a Josh McDaniels hire in 2022. When assembling his staff this offseason, Carroll decided he wanted to keep McMahon, likely because the special teams had been stellar the few years prior.
This year, they haven’t been stellar.
Special teams are the reason for a few Raiders’ losses in 2025
When you look at this 2-7 team, which could be the worst team in the NFL, it’s easy to say they could be 5-4. They had a blocked field goal in Week 4 vs. the Chicago Bears, and they lost that game by one point. That blocked field goal was actually for the win, but they ended up losing, obviously.
There is also the missed extra point in Week 9 vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars, in which the Jags won in overtime by one point. And, there is the blocked punt and missed game-tying field goal attempt vs. the Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football. This firing was a bit fair.
Here is the statement that head coach Pete Carroll put out shortly after the news was broken:
“Earlier today, we made the tough decision to relieve Tom McMahon of his duties as special teams coordinator. I have a great amount of respect for Tom and the work that he has done in this league, but we have decided to move in a different direction. Derius Swinton II will assume special teams coordinator duties on an interim basis, and we are excited to attack the second half of this season with outstanding intent and purpose. We are grateful for Tom and his work here with the Raiders and wish him nothing but the best moving forward.”
This could only mean that we start seeing more changes being made to the staff if Carroll thinks they need to be made.
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