The Raiders are so ready for this. Past ready. All the failed experiments with head coaches the past few years have led to this. Finally a well-respected, well-liked, established coach in the building.
At the risk of sounding like I’m overselling a 73-year-old coach, it’s about a lot more than just his status and bonafides. It’s about his philosophy to coaching. And it’s about how it’s just what *this* Raiders team need at *this* moment. It’s one he’s used at two previous stops with great success. Something he drilled down on in his combine press conference Tuesday.
“The whole experiment going to Seattle after USC,” Carroll said, “was to see if we could carry the mentality and the approach to how we dealt with the people in the program and the people outside of program – the fans the following as well – in a similar fashion to see what would happen. What was different between and the NFL. I didn’t find any difference at all. And I was really thrilled about that. And it just supported the mentality. If there was anything that was easy to see transfer from college to the NFL, it’s how you treat people and how you look out for them and how you care for them. And you realize that the connection and the interaction that you can have with people can help them find the best they have to offer.”
If you’d like an example of how this would work for this team, you need only go back to the 2023 season. What you saw there was the same team go from a complete mess to a focused, well-adjusted squad.
They were happy, first and foremost. They went from the most unlikable head coach in the league (Josh McDaniels) to a fiery former player (Antonio Pierce). They lit up cigars in the locker room after their first win. And it was no coincidence it was also the first game all season that the offense scored over 20 points.
It didn’t matter in the slightest that McDaniels was a supposed offensive genius. Or that Pierce had never even held a coordinator position at the NFL level. The human element took over and the players…well, they played.
As we know, this didn’t carry over to 2024, when Pierce was given the job full time. Part of that was the fact that much of what he brought to the table as an interim head coach didn’t carry over.
Moreso, what you saw last season was the exposure of those aspects of Pierce’s coaching that were lacking. His fiery nature was great, but it came with an emotional rollercoaster that seemed to alienate and turn off a lot of players. And his terrible game management led to a complete lack of confidence that he would get the most out of every snap.
Obviously emotional rollercoasters and poor game management are not going to be concerns with the old ball coach. And his fiery nature only seems to show up when it comes to supporting his guys.
In that regard, what Mark Davis and company learned from the likes of McDaniels and Pierce was what mattered most. And Pete Carroll’s coaching mentality checks all the right boxes.