In a lot of ways, this season has been a major success.
Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2025 6:23 am
Title sounds silly but hear me out. The Vegas odds on the Raiders 2025 regular season record was 7.5 so lets say the Raiders meet expectations and win 7 or 8 games with a mediocre Geno Smith and 74 year old Pete Carroll who clearly isn't the coach he used to be. The organization would have likely been compelled to bring it all back for the 2026 season and keep going with the Band-Aid QB approach, once again not drafting a QB in the first round as they would be picking around 15/16. It's very possible the 2026 season could have melted down like this one with Pete being a year older, Smith being older and worse, etc. Bottom line is that the organization would continue treading the waters of losing and mediocrity. Seems like this season was always the eventual conclusion to the Carroll/Smith experiment and giving them another season would have been simply kicking the can down the road and going through this one year later.
As of now everything is clear going into the offseason. There will be no tough decisions on the coaching staff or starting QB. They are both gone and the team will very likely draft a QB with their top 3 pick. Now that in itself doesn't guarantee anything, but it's very clear that the veteran QB Band-Aid approach is not working and to unearth the next franchise QB, you have to draft them. It may not work out but they have to try or the seasons will continue to be pointless. Also a top 3 pick is going to be attractive to top head coach candidates as they know a rookie QB buys them time and it's an opportunity to build around their guy. Maybe, just maybe, the Raiders finally get something right in the offseason finding their QB and head coach. The odds are probably slim because a lot of QB's bust and Mark Davis is still in the building, but really it's the first time in a long time there is truly hope for better as there's real opportunity here for the organization to lay down the foundation to better days.
As of now everything is clear going into the offseason. There will be no tough decisions on the coaching staff or starting QB. They are both gone and the team will very likely draft a QB with their top 3 pick. Now that in itself doesn't guarantee anything, but it's very clear that the veteran QB Band-Aid approach is not working and to unearth the next franchise QB, you have to draft them. It may not work out but they have to try or the seasons will continue to be pointless. Also a top 3 pick is going to be attractive to top head coach candidates as they know a rookie QB buys them time and it's an opportunity to build around their guy. Maybe, just maybe, the Raiders finally get something right in the offseason finding their QB and head coach. The odds are probably slim because a lot of QB's bust and Mark Davis is still in the building, but really it's the first time in a long time there is truly hope for better as there's real opportunity here for the organization to lay down the foundation to better days.