Raiders may hold edge on other teams with new coach-quarterback pairings

‘The dawn of a new NFL season is always an exciting team around the league, with a blank slate creating renewed optimism.

For the Las Vegas Raiders, the offseason gave them the opportunity to pivot and upgrade at both head coach and quarterback. The Raiders hired Pete Carroll to replace Antonio Pierce on the sidelines in January, followed by a trade to bring quarterback Geno Smith from the Seattle Seahawks to Las Vegas in March. With the two having immediate chemistry with one another, there is expectations from the Raiders fanbase that Carroll and Smith can orchestrate a quick turnaround from the four-win campaign from last year.

With the success of both player and coach being vital to the Raiders’ success, it is important that both find what made them so successful in Seattle.

The Raiders have an advantage on other teams with new coaches and quarterbacks due to Carroll and Smith’s shared history.

According to CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin, Carroll and Smith give the Raiders the best new coach-quarterback pairing in the NFL, although he expressed cautious optimism about his high ranking.

“It’s very possible, if not probable, that these two ex-Seahawks partners are past their prime. Smith is 34 and endured two uneven seasons after his award-winning 2022 breakout in Seattle. Carroll is 73, spent 2024 away from the sidelines and hasn’t led a playoff victory in six years,” Benjamin explained.

“And yet, if you’re looking for a high floor this year, it’s almost got to be the new faces of the silver and black. Though streaky, Geno still possesses the kind of big-play arm the Raiders haven’t seen for years. Carroll, meanwhile, is a proven culture-builder whose infectious personality has the potential to bring the best out of unforeseen corners of the Las Vegas locker room.”

Both Carroll and Smith come to Las Vegas with something to prove to themselves, as well as the rest of the NFL.

Smith is ready to reunite with Carroll and prove that an up-and-down last year in Seattle was more on his supporting cast instead of him. Carroll, meanwhile, has seemed to embrace a new, modernized approach to coaching in his year away from the NFL.

If the two can recreate the magic they had in Seattle, the Raiders have a chance to make some real noise this season.