Silver And Black Pride
With just two victories and nine defeats of all varieties — close heartbreak to lopsided beatdowns — the 2025 campaign has gone terribly awry for the Las Vegas Raiders.
It’s a season where head coach Pete Carroll dismiss two of his coordinators. First was special teams boss Tom McMahon after the team’s Week 10 10-7 loss to the Denver Broncos. And most recently, offensive coordinator Chip Kelly after Las Vegas’ 24-10 home loss to the Cleveland Browns this past Sunday.
The firings were not without cause.
Blocked punts and a field goal along with explosive returns allowed and missed tackles scuttled McMahon’s tenure in the desert. Kelly, meanwhile, helmed a group which failed to score more than 10 points four times in the nine tilts. That’s one holdover from the previous regimes (McMahon) and a newcomer who reportedly was the highest-paid offensive play caller in the NFL (Kelly, who was allegedly making an average of $6 million per year to come to Las Vegas from Ohio State).
“Not so much so, but I gave Chip a lot of leeway because he’s got an extraordinary background and history, and he had such a phenomenal season coming out of Ohio State last year, that we wanted to give him his due and all that,” Carroll said when asked if there was a differing opinion between him and his former offensive coordinator during the head coach’s media availability on Monday. “But, as we continue to grow and come together, we just couldn’t get there. So, I wish him the very best, and I like him, and we got along great and all that, but we had to make a tough call.”
So out goes Kelly and in comes a familiar face and name to Raider Nation as the interim offensive coordinator: Greg Olson.
Carroll, who is Captain Positivity and stubborn in his old age, is steadfast on winning ballgames — as any head coach should. But the Raiders’ focus in the remaining six games should be equal parts present and future. Gauging the offseason needs the rest of the way is vital.
And that should include playing rookies and younger players to help spotlight areas of opportunity.
After all, general manager John Spytek, his personnel group, alongside Carroll allocated valuable draft resources this past April on a number of prospects and outside sixth overall pick Ashton Jeanty, the return on investment (ROI) hasn’t been ideal.
The clamoring for the Raiders to involve second-round wide receiver Jack Bech (58th overall) and third-round cornerback Darien Porter (68th overall) grows louder by the minute. Ditto for third-round offensive lineman Caleb Rogers (98th overall) and Charles Grant (99th overall). Especially as the team’s struggles in all three phases continues to be ever-present.
When pressed on getting Rogers and Grant gameday opportunities after quarterback Geno Smith was sacked a staggering 10 times in the loss to the Browns, Carroll noted the third-round selections are not game-ready.
“That’s one way to look at it. You could just try...
