Pete Carroll was announced Saturday as Las Vegas’ new coach, with the Raiders hoping that even as the oldest head coach in the NFL, the 73-year-old will provide stability for an organization badly lacking it.
The team and Carroll agreed in principle on Friday to a three-year deal with a one-year team option, a person with knowledge of the agreement told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract hadn’t been finalized at the time.
The club did not announce the terms of the deal.
Before sending out their news release, the Raiders posted on X a photo showing chewing gum with their indoor practice facility in the background. Carroll is known to chew gum on the sidelines.
Carroll returns to the sideline after leading Seattle to two NFC championships and the franchise’s only Super Bowl title during a 14-year stretch that ended following the 2023 season.
He joins a team that’s partly owned by Tom Brady, who beat Carroll and the Seahawks in the Super Bowl 10 years ago. Brady watched from the sideline as Malcolm Butler picked off Russell Wilson’s pass at the goal line to seal the victory for the New England Patriots.
Carroll continues a historic trend of Raider head coaches with ties to Pacific.
He is the third person to hold the position who played for the Tigers, including Tom Flores (1979-87) and Hue Jackson (2011). Jon Gruden (1998-2001, 2018-2021) was the tight ends coach at the school in 1989. UOP cancelled its football program in 1995.
After attending College of Marin for two years, Carroll, who grew up in Greenbrae in the North Bay Area, went to Pacific where he played safety for two years and earned All-Pacific Coast Athletic Association honors both seasons (1971-72). He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1973.
He served as a graduate assistant coach at Pacific from 1973-76 and returned in 1983 as the defensive coordinator.
Brady is believed to have a major hand in the hiring process for this job and the general manager spot, which was filled by Tampa Bay Buccaneers assistant GM John Spytek on Wednesday. The club, however, has not announced Spytek’s hire. Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl champion, finished his career with the Bucs.
Carroll replaces Antonio Pierce, who was fired after going 4-13 in his first full season. Pierce was 5-4 as an interim coach in 2023 after replacing Josh McDaniels.
Carroll becomes the team’s 14th head coach since Jon Gruden was traded to Tampa Bay in 2002. He will become the fifth coach, including those in an interim role, since the Raiders moved to Las Vegas in 2020.
The once-proud organization with three Super Bowl trophies and the motto “Commitment to Excellence” has appeared in just two playoffs since making the championship game in the 2002 season. The Raiders lost in the wild-card round in both years.
Carroll has the demanding job of trying to revive an organization in an AFC West loaded with proven coaches and quarterbacks who appear to be in place for years to come. It will become the first division to open a season in which each head coach has appeared in a Super Bowl.
One of his chief challenges will be what to do at quarterback in a division that includes the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, the Chargers’ Justin Herbert and the Broncos’ Bo Nix. Mahomes is pursuing his fourth Super Bowl title and third in a row. Herbert is considered a potentially top-level QB and Nix just completed a largely successful rookie season.
The Raiders pick sixth in the draft this year and likely won’t be in position to take one of the top two QBs — Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward — barring a trade. The free-agent market doesn’t appear robust, so the Raiders’ options might be limited and could return to Aidan O’Connell as the starter.
If the Raiders are unable to make a major move at quarterback, they will have nearly $100 million in salary-cap space, according to Over The Cap, to bolster the rest of the roster.
Carroll began his NFL head coaching career with the New York Jets in 1994, going 6-10. He was 27-21 in three seasons with the Patriots from 1997-99 and joined Seattle in 2010 after nine seasons at Southern California. He led the 2004 Trojans to a national championship and also the 2003 AP national title.
Overall, Carroll is 170-120-1 in the NFL.
He will become the third coach since 1940 to lead at least four teams, joining Bill Parcells and Marty Schottenheimer.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.