Silver And Black Pride
But how long will the good vibes with Pete Carroll at the helm of the Las Vegas Raiders last?
With age comes wisdom. And at 73 years old, Pete Carroll brings plenty of that as the Las Vegas Raiders head coach.
With boundless energy that is surprising coming from a coach of his age, Carroll’s energy is abundantly clear as the Silver & Black embark on an integral offseason. From OTAs, mandatory minicamp, and currently in training camp, Carroll is showing no signs of slowing down.
But more importantly than that, we’re seeing tangible evidence of the Carroll culture infusing itself into everything Raider. The energy is amplifying the culture change, so much so, the difference in past vibes to the current one is staggering.
“The culture has been great, the positivity, the uplifting, the teaching has come from a place of love, a place of, ‘This is what we need you to do. This is kind of where we’re taking things,’ and it’s all about relationships also,” Raiders tight end Michael Mayer said when asked about how this training camp feels different to the two previous versions. “I’ve got Steck (tight end coach Luke Steckel) who is in the tight end room, just like I had last year, and he’s awesome, he’s great. But in terms of relationship based, starting with Pete, starting with (general manager John) Spytek, and then all the way down, even defensive coaches.
“I’m talking to defensive coaches, eating breakfast with them, hanging out, talking about where I’m from, stuff like that. And some of that stuff you just didn’t really have before. So, I’m really excited about that.”
Other Raiders coaches and players have called out Carroll’s uncanny ability to build relationships. Being able to develop and sustain long-term intrapersonal relationships is an elusive task for head coaches.
The two previous regimes in Las Vegas failed to do so, and while some may label Carroll as a “rah-rah” guy, the former Seattle Seahawks head coach landed the gig in the desert in large part to being able to rally a team with his energy and culture building. And we’re hearing and seeing Raiders who take the podium to field questions on media availability speak highly of the new regime.
“There’s a lot of just great team camaraderie, team community, and I think that’s the first step in kind of winning games, it really is,” Mayer expanded. “You’ve got to be together. You’ve got to be on the same page all the time. You’ve got to be eating breakfast, talking together. You’ve got to be in the meetings all day together, like you have to talk, you have to communicate.
“And it’s not really my way or the highway, that’s not what we’re doing here. We want to win games, and we’re trying to do kind of the best way possible. What’s the best way we can do this? Not this is the way it’s going to be. What’s...
