The Las Vegas Raiders decided last offseason to fire head coach Antonio Pierce and bring in Pete Carroll. Moreover, Carroll’s arrival in Las Vegas paved the way for the coach to reunite with veteran quarterback Geno Smith, whom he had while with the Seattle Seahawks.
In Week 1 against the New England Patriots, Smith had an impressive debut, completing 24 of 34 passes for 362 yards and a touchdown. His lone scoring throw came early in the first quarter, a 26-yard strike to Tre Tucker.
He also found tight end Brock Bowers five times for 103 yards and later connected with fellow rookie Dont’e Thornton Jr. on a 36-yard fourth-quarter pass that helped seal the victory.
On the September 14 edition of “FOX NFL Sunday,” NFL analyst Terry Bradshaw said he expects the Carroll era in Las Vegas to be successful. He added that the Raiders hired a coach who possesses a trait shared by many of the NFL’s greatest coaches.
“Pete Carroll is a perfect fit,” Bradshaw said. “That’s what I’m getting to. He’s the perfect match, I think, for the Raiders. No. 1, he’s organized. Every great coach has a plan. They don’t deviate. Name them. I don’t care who you are—[Tom] Landry, [Don] Shula, [Chuck] Noll, makes no difference. [Andy] Reid, they all have a great plan.”
What Does Pete Carroll Bring to the Raiders?
Bradshaw didn’t stop there, praising the Raiders for deciding to hire Carroll. While it’s only been a few months and one regular-season game at the helm, the NFL analyst is excited about what he will bring to the Silver and Black.
“When he came to the Raiders, I said to Howie [Long], perfect fit for this guy,” Bradshaw added. “He’ll bring the energy; he’ll bring the structure. He’ll bring discipline. And if the players can match his energy on the field that he has as a coach, they’re going to be a knockout success. And I believe they are.”
Carroll will be looking to get the Raiders to have a 2-0 start when Las Vegas face AFC West rival the Los Angeles Chargers.
Pete Carroll Is Already Motivating the Raiders
Carroll brings plenty of strengths as a head coach, but his ability to fire up players might be his greatest asset. Despite his age, he still carries the energy and enthusiasm of someone decades younger.
Before his Raiders debut in Week 1 against the Patriots, Carroll smashed a beat-up piece of office equipment to pump up his team, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
“On the Saturday night before their season opener on Sept. 7, Pete Carroll used the stage of his first pregame meeting with the Raiders to kick through a whiteboard in dramatic fashion, leading to pandemonium in the room in a moment those present won’t soon forget,” Rapoport wrote. “With the whiteboard obliterated, the end result on Sunday was a 20-13 victory over the Patriots.
“One source described Carroll like a WWE wrestler cutting a promo, showing the team that it didn’t fly to New England to mess around. The Raiders came to compete. The blasted whiteboard was the fallout.”