Pete Carroll gave the fans who attended training camp a chance to see what all the hype is about regarding his energy
Hiring Pete Carroll, the former Seattle Seahawks head coach, as the Las Vegas Raiders' new head coach and leader of the new regime, was the smartest decision the franchise could have made last season. They were headed nowhere fast; nothing was getting better — it was, in fact, getting worse as they lost more games […]
Hiring Pete Carroll, the former Seattle Seahawks head coach, as the Las Vegas Raiders' new head coach and leader of the new regime, was the smartest decision the franchise could have made last season.
They were headed nowhere fast; nothing was getting better — it was, in fact, getting worse as they lost more games and won only four in 2024. And, sure, Antonio Pierce should have been given a bit more time, but it was obvious that he wasn't ready to be a head coach just yet. One day, he will be ready to do that, but right now, he's not.
So, hiring the experienced Pete Carroll was always the right move. And, he's not just experienced, he's won everywhere he's gone. He won a Super Bowl against the Denver Broncos, lost another to the New England patriots dynasty, barely, and won a National Championship with the USC Trojans. He has never not won, really.
But his biggest flaw and biggest worry when he was hired was his age. Carroll will be 74 this season, which makes him the oldest head coach in the history of the league. But, as we all know, there's no way he is really 73. He's more like 60, or even 50s. He has an infectious energy that I've never seen any 74-year-old have.
And, we've always heard that about him — stories about him at practice back when he was with the Seahawks, whether it was playing quarterback during a drill and scrambling for a touchdown, or even playing cornerback. But this week, Raiders fans got to see it.
Raiders fans in attendance for training camp saw Pete Carroll and his infectious energy
This week, the Las Vegas Raiders hosted some fans at training camp, just like every team does. When practices are outside, most of them will have fans in attendance. But, because it's so hot in Nevada, not every practice can be outside. When they are inside, there are no fans, because there is no room.
But, Day 4 of practice, on Sunday, was outside, and man did the fans show up.
Before practice really even started, Carroll ran around the field, sprinted from sideline to sideline, and went and dabbed some fans up and gave them some high fives. It's certainly not something that even a much younger Josh McDaniels would do. I'm sure Jon Gruden and Antonio Pierce have done something similar, but not to this extent, and certainly not at 73 years old.
The Raiders definitely made the right decision in hiring Carroll, and you can already see his culture rubbing off.
Las Vegas Raiders are set to make NFL history in 2025 with Pete Carroll and 2024 hasn’t even ended yet
The Raiders don’t seem to care.
