ESPN: Inside Raiders' 2025 collapse, Tom Brady's influence

[ALLRAIDERWORLD21]

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/475 ... ysfunction


Good read..here’s an excerpt on the Oline..
"A lot of guys were out of their natural position," left tackle Kolton Miller told ESPN. "It's not easy, but [Brennan Carroll] tried to get the best of us together each week."

An agent of a Raiders offensive lineman said that his client told him the position group met multiple times on their own with Smith and Jeanty, and specifically without coaches, so the quarterback and running back could talk to them about how they wanted the offensive line to create blocks.

"It was that bad," the agent told ESPN. "They were meeting on their own and trying to figure it out together, which I have never heard of in my history of working in this league."

"There is some sort of nepotism going on," a fourth agent of a Raiders player said.

[SkullCrusher]

So we are still a mess.

What else is new?

Yep we suck until we don't!

[Jeevo]

Ken Herock suggest McDaniels and Pierce, but we should listen to him. A former assistant who obviously sucked and got fired, who cares. A former executive who had a hand in putting together this cluster comments, yawn. S

Honestly, unless you put you name on something I could care less what you have to say. The players who put there names on their quotes have all my respect. The rest of the commenters in the article, I could care less. They are on the outside looking in and honestly most of them don't say anything that we on the forum couldn't have said.

The point stands, if you're that important to the direction of the team, and the big decisions, then you should be full time, not dropping into the facilty a few times a season. Doesn't seem like a radical position to take.

[chucker]

I think Brady can be heavily involved in a coaching search without committing to being in the building every day all year. It's a huge decision and I want Spytek to have someone to discuss it with who's smart, informed and committed to the Raiders. I still want to hire a guy who Spytek is extremely excited about as head coach.

I think Brady knows a helluva lot more about what you need in an NFL head coach than other owners - he's played for several and won SBs with 2. I have no doubt that he'd be well prepared for any HC interview.

My biggest requirement for anyone involved in the process is that they enter with an open mind - don't fall in love with Jon Gruden II before letting the process help you make a decision.

[SkullCrusher]

At least it sounds like it wasn't Spytek who chose Carroll.

And more than ever, Brady needs to pick a career. And if he picks the Raiders over announcing he has to tell Doofus to butt out. I don't think either will happen. Mark's gotta sell the team.

Not sure the Silver and Black win another Super Bowl in my lifetime.

Does he? What I read more often than not from pro-football fans is hire the GM and ownership stay out of the way.

Where I would love Brady to be involved is to make sure Mendoza gets the same education he got from Bilichick about reading defenses and he attributes that to as big a reason for his success as any. Not doing that is assnine, he has the blueprint, train your QB right! I don't think he's done this yet with a Raider QB under his minority ownership and that's weird to me.

Ownership does get to pop in and out a little bit and more often when things are bleak, it's how business works, let alone just football.

[Jeevo]

I think Brady can be heavily involved in a coaching search without committing to being in the building every day all year. It's a huge decision and I want Spytek to have someone to discuss it with who's smart, informed and committed to the Raiders. I still want to hire a guy who Spytek is extremely excited about as head coach.

I think Brady knows a helluva lot more about what you need in an NFL head coach than other owners - he's played for several and won SBs with 2. I have no doubt that he'd be well prepared for any HC interview.

My biggest requirement for anyone involved in the process is that they enter with an open mind - don't fall in love with Jon Gruden II before letting the process help you make a decision.

It's not just this coaching search, it's all the major decisions that go with running football operations. If he's just a consultant, fine, if he's making the big decisions and isn't there day to day I don't like it. The GM sees and meets with the staff pretty much daily and should know exactly what's going on underneath him. Just give all the power to Spytek.

[NoThanksSir]

By reading between the lines in some of the quotes. Spytek saying "Brady can't be here all the time yet" I think the plan is for Brady to eventually be the President of Football operations but simply isn't allowed to assume that role at this juncture. This other quote kind of corroborates that:

"Brady can't have a title other than "limited partner," because a person with equity can only be a team employee if they are the controlling owner or are related to the controlling owner."

Imo, for better or worse Brady will maintain this advisory role until Mark retires or dies. I think Mark might actually want to step away after a certain point. He's made his money, and I don't think the Raiders are his passion in life. When that day comes Brady will become the controlling owner and be in the building every day. Until then, it's simply against the rules.

[haji81872]

The point stands, if you're that important to the direction of the team, and the big decisions, then you should be full time, not dropping into the facilty a few times a season. Doesn't seem like a radical position to take.

Sure, but I don't need Ken Herock or anonymous sources to tell me that.

Also, people on the board love to say we could do better than our current GM and coach, so apparently you can do just fine sitting in front of a keyboard.

[ALLRAIDERWORLD21]

The point stands, if you're that important to the direction of the team, and the big decisions, then you should be full time, not dropping into the facilty a few times a season. Doesn't seem like a radical position to take.

I agree in a way this take but at the end of the day, Brady's name is all over this rebuild and I'm sure even working at it remotely, he's putting as much as times allows into its success. Its not just a shiny toy for him like it was for Mark, although Mark is in it for the money and if he can build a winner its a bonus. Brady is opposite, he's all about winning and it will eat at his soul if he fails. That said, all the losing in Al's last decade ate at his soul soul too I'm sure, but AL's ego stood in the way and I'm concerned Brady could walk down that same road--I don't want him to be another Michael Jordan,(from an ownership standpoint ) of the NFL.

[haji81872]

I think Brady can be heavily involved in a coaching search without committing to being in the building every day all year. It's a huge decision and I want Spytek to have someone to discuss it with who's smart, informed and committed to the Raiders. I still want to hire a guy who Spytek is extremely excited about as head coach.

I think Brady knows a helluva lot more about what you need in an NFL head coach than other owners - he's played for several and won SBs with 2. I have no doubt that he'd be well prepared for any HC interview.

My biggest requirement for anyone involved in the process is that they enter with an open mind - don't fall in love with Jon Gruden II before letting the process help you make a decision.

This is my thought. He isn't running the draft. He isn't making FA decisions. He is using his connections to try and get us the best staff he can. He is using his stature to reach out to a big name QB. He isn't having input into our 6th round pick or are back-up tackle. It really does not need to be involved in the minutia. Hiring a coach? He would be a great asset.

[heavyD]

My notes after reading the article.

1. It’s clear that matching Carroll with Kelly was a mistake. Brady really should have known better here but I will give him the benefit of the doubt provided he learns from the mistake and lets the new coach pick his own coordinator.

2. Kelly was a bad hire. Even with a better OL it’s clear that Kelly’s offense wasn’t very good and it almost sounds like he was just mailing it in or simply not prepared as is expected of an NFL OC. He was supposedly Brady’s hire so another black mark for Tom.

3. It’s clear Brennan Carroll was probably the biggest mistake of all and another Brady mistake. It sounded like a bad idea when it was announced Pete was bringing in his son to coach the OL and clearly everyone from Kelly to the players on offense were compromised by the hire. Several of us here noted the downside of the hire when it was announced so Brady needs to be smarter than this and if Brennan was a prerequisite for Pete to sign a contract, he should have moved on. It’s embarrassing that the players were meeting on their own to sort out blocking assignments.

3. Pete Carroll was once a great head coach but not anymore. He did a terrible job all around.

4. Spytec acquitted himself well considering the walls crumbling around him. He didn’t hire Pete and was smart enough to hold onto JPJ when other GM’s were circling in hopes of stealing him. Clearly he realized that it was a coaching problem and not a player problem. He also still moved Meyers despite Carroll wanting to hold on to the asset for his failed attempt at trying to win games. For me he gets a mulligan for this season.

5. Not blaming Mark. Sounds like this was mostly Brady’s doing.

Plan A was a good plan but it didn’t happen and going forward this organization needs better contingency plans as Plan B wasn’t really much of a plan and more just throwing names of coaches and coordinators in a hat. All we can really hope is that Brady learned a lot from this season and what went wrong and does a much better job this offseason or we will revisit this topic a year from now.

[Attyla]

They interviewed 22 people in and around the organization and the big take away was the second paragraph.

Interviews with 22 people in and around the team and the league point less to Brady as the cause of another failed year than continued dysfunction symptomatic of an impatient owner, a misaligned front office and coaching staff, and players who lost respect for their coaches. How the team will navigate it all is one of the defining questions of the NFL offseason.

So Brady was less either involved or less able to affect the changes needed to make this work. Johnson wanted nothing to do with the mess so even Brady was unable to get him on board.

The assertation that Brady was never a front office type or has zero skills running an organization flies in the face of the truth. While he may not have been in the front office, you know he spent a ton of time in that front office. As his career blossomed, he absolutely was involved in offensive personnel decisions, decisions that revolved around players he felt he could succeed with. Would not surprise me if Moss was a Brady decision.

So, look, I don't know if Brady can be a successful owner after one year. We do know that after a decade Davis has proven he is absolutely a disaster of an owner. And I don't know all the truth behind the walls. But we have seen significant evidence of real issues. Dating back years with the HR stuff, the mass exodus from the building, now this article. Do you blame the guy who has been around one year or the guy who has run the show for 10? Hard not to point to the 10 year guy.

[Xramfan]

They interviewed 22 people in and around the organization and the big take away was the second paragraph.

So Brady was less either involved or less able to affect the changes needed to make this work. Johnson wanted nothing to do with the mess so even Brady was unable to get him on board.

The assertation that Brady was never a front office type or has zero skills running an organization flies in the face of the truth. While he may not have been in the front office, you know he spent a ton of time in that front office. As his career blossomed, he absolutely was involved in offensive personnel decisions, decisions that revolved around players he felt he could succeed with. Would not surprise me if Moss was a Brady decision.

So, look, I don't know if Brady can be a successful owner after one year. We do know that after a decade Davis has proven he is absolutely a disaster of an owner. And I don't know all the truth behind the walls. But we have seen significant evidence of real issues. Dating back years with the HR stuff, the mass exodus from the building, now this article. Do you blame the guy who has been around one year or the guy who has run the show for 10? Hard not to point to the 10 year guy.

The hate for Brady exceeding the contempt for the turnip has been interesting

[Rabidraider]

Tear it down to the studs. Trade Maxx, Only keep Spytek.

[BoKnows81]

Tear it down to the studs. Trade Maxx, Only keep Spytek.

If someone offers two 1sts for that clown, he should be on the next plane out.

[ALLRAIDERWORLD21]

My notes after reading the article.

1. It’s clear that matching Carroll with Kelly was a mistake. Brady really should have known better here but I will give him the benefit of the doubt provided he learns from the mistake and lets the new coach pick his own coordinator.

2. Kelly was a bad hire. Even with a better OL it’s clear that Kelly’s offense wasn’t very good and it almost sounds like he was just mailing it in or simply not prepared as is expected of an NFL OC. He was supposedly Brady’s hire so another black mark for Tom.

3. It’s clear Brennan Carroll was probably the biggest mistake of all and another Brady mistake. It sounded like a bad idea when it was announced Pete was bringing in his son to coach the OL and clearly everyone from Kelly to the players on offense were compromised by the hire. Several of us here noted the downside of the hire when it was announced so Brady needs to be smarter than this and if Brennan was a prerequisite for Pete to sign a contract, he should have moved on. It’s embarrassing that the players were meeting on their own to sort out blocking assignments.

3. Pete Carroll was once a great head coach but not anymore. He did a terrible job all around.

4. Spytec acquitted himself well considering the walls crumbling around him. He didn’t hire Pete and was smart enough to hold onto JPJ when other GM’s were circling in hopes of stealing him. Clearly he realized that it was a coaching problem and not a player problem. He also still moved Meyers despite Carroll wanting to hold on to the asset for his failed attempt at trying to win games. For me he gets a mulligan for this season.

5. Not blaming Mark. Sounds like this was mostly Brady’s doing.

Plan A was a good plan but it didn’t happen and going forward this organization needs better contingency plans as Plan B wasn’t really much of a plan and more just throwing names of coaches and coordinators in a hat. All we can really hope is that Brady learned a lot from this season and what went wrong and does a much better job this offseason or we will revisit this topic a year from now.

And the saving grace throughout this disastrous season is that we were able to securer the 1st pick in the draft even when 4 other teams finished with the same record--We had a 25% chance. The Football Gods have shined on us for once in nearly the last 25 years and I can't say that I'm not happy that Brady and Spytek with one year of experience under their belt now, will be making the pick. I would not trust this pick to anyone of the coaches or GMS since 02 other than, maybe McKenzie (I wouldn't even trust 2000-2010 Al with it). Even in losing, Brady figured out how to win somehow.