By Derek Hegna,Dice City Sports

Copyright yardbarker

Heading into the season opener against the New England Patriots, Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll decided to go an unconventional route to get his team fired up.

Before the game, Carroll entered the locker room from the back and walked through the players, similar to a WWE Superstar walking through the crowd. He then gave a speech to push his team to compete before, to close out, kicking through a whiteboard to get his team going. The process clearly worked, as the Raiders came through with a 20-13 victory over the Patriots to start the Carroll era with a win.

“That’s just Pete,” a locker room source said, per NFL insider Ian Rapoport. “That’s how he turns the culture around.”

While the display is certainly hard to believe unless someone saw it with their own eyes, the energy is unsurprising coming from Carroll.

Despite turning 74 years old on Monday, Carroll has always held an unbridled enthusiasm that has made him such a popular figure with veterans and young players alike. That was clear from his first offseason and training camp with the Raiders, as his antics quickly made him a fan favorite in Las Vegas. Should the success continue throughout this season, Carroll could be the coach that the Raiders have been waiting a long time for.

“He just knows how to reach guys. This is why he’s who he is,” an anonymous source stated.

The Raiders head into a high-stakes divisional matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday, so it will be intriguing to see how Carroll ups the ante to get his team ready to play.