The Las Vegas Raiders turned more than a few heads with their head coaching hire this offseason, inking 73-year-old Pete Carroll to a three-year contract with a fourth-year option. Carroll's midseason birthday will crown him as the oldest head coach in NFL history.
It was strange timing on the surface, as Las Vegas won four games last season and appeared to be in the nascent stages of a rebuild. Led by new minority owner Tom Brady, however, Las Vegas is aiming to turn things around quickly. Geno Smith brings Pro Bowl pedigree to the QB room, while Ashton Jeanty was the most Pete Carroll pick imaginable in the NFL Draft.
The Raiders are also attempting to lay the groundwork for a succession plan, from the looks of it. According to Vinny Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Raiders may already have their next-in-line behind Pete Carroll: his son, Brennan Carroll.
"If Carroll, who is on a three-year contract with a team option for a fourth year, gets the Raiders rolling and decides to retire, the name to watch is his son Brennan," Bonsignore writes. "Brennan Carroll, 46, is the team’s offensive line coach. He was previously a college offensive coordinator at Arizona and Washington and experienced plenty of success. His time is coming. Don’t be surprised if he gets his shot with the Raiders if everything goes smoothly the next few years."
Raiders could hire Brennan Carroll, Pete Carroll's son, as next head coach when his dad retires
Brennan Carroll was the offensive coordinator at Arizona from 2021-23 and the offensive coordinator at Washington in 2024, replacing former Seahawks OC and current Alabama Crimson Tide play-caller Ryan Grubb. He now joins his father's staff in Las Vegas as the offensive line coach. Brennan spent five years as an assistant O-line coach under Pete Carroll in Seattle (and one year as run game coordinator) before taking his talents to the collegiate realm.
This makes a lot of sense on paper. At 46, Brennan Carroll is still young by NFL coaching standards and he will be approaching his 50th birthday when his father presumably retires. Assuming all goes swimmingly over the next few years in Las Vegas — a major assumption, and far from a guarantee — there will be built-in familiarity and strong familial influence in the organization. Pete Carroll is one of the most accomplished football minds of his generation; of course his son will get a leg up in the industry. Call it nepotism, call it fate, but it seems exceedingly plausible.
The Raiders need a lot more from the O-line this season. Geno Smith performed admirably behind a leaky front in Seattle, one of his best traits as a quarterback, but he won't have the same playmaking firepower at his disposal in Las Vegas. If the Raiders want to win games — and optimize this short-term investment in Pete Carroll — it will require a strong performance from Smith, which invariably means a sturdy offensive line and adequate support across the board.
While recycling a has-been head coach rarely works, Carroll was just recently a successful guiding light in Seattle. He is not in the Bill Belichick bucket of washed; it does not feel like the game has completely passed him by. Tom Brady wanted a proven winner who could help restore this Raiders franchise to some semblance of greatness, or at least respectability. If Pete can deliver on the promise of his track record, then don't be shocked if Brennan is assuming the mantle in four-ish years.