It seems that no matter where Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll has been throughout his head coaching career, Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh has been nearby to be his foil. Back when Carroll was at USC, Harbaugh took over at Stanford and was a thorn in Carroll’s side every season.
That continued into the NFL, where Harbaugh and the San Francisco 49ers had arguably the fiercest rivalry in the NFL at the time with Carroll’s Seattle Seahawks. And now the battles between the two will continue as Carroll has taken over the Raiders, who are in the same division as Harbaugh and the Chargers, meaning the two will once again face off twice a season.
But despite years of fierce battles, Harbaugh has a ton of respect for Carroll, praising him for being an exceptional coach while also admitting that the two would likely be really good friends if they didn’t always find themselves on opposite sidelines, via Chargers Muse on X:
Jim Harbaugh on Pete Carroll pic.twitter.com/pVvhzxGMwN
— ChargersMuse (@ChargersMuse) September 10, 2025
It is essentially impossible not to respect what Carroll has accomplished throughout his coaching career, particularly before joining the Raiders, as he has been a massive success everywhere he has been. His run at USC was one of the best in college football history, and he built the Seahawks into one of the most consistently great teams in the NFL during his tenure there. With Harbaugh being so closely linked to him throughout, of course, there is a level of respect present between the two.
As Harbaugh noted, the two would likely have been great friends if they weren’t always rivals on the field, as both share a deep love and passion for the game of football. However, instead, they often find themselves on opposite sides, and this will continue on Monday night when the Raiders and Chargers face off, both looking for an impressive 2-0 start to the season.
Former coach Antonio Pierce reacts to Pete Carroll’s first win with Raiders
There were some questions about whether the Raiders were right in firing Antonio Pierce after just one season as head coach, but the franchise felt that Pete Carroll was the right choice to build the team up to glory.
Things got off to a great start with the Raiders’ Week 1 road victory over the New England Patriots. Pierce, now an analyst at CBS Sports, praised Carroll for his experience and ability to build a culture within a franchise, while also noting how Carroll has achieved the things Pierce himself pushed for but didn’t get with the Raiders.
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