Silver And Black Pride
The Las Vegas Raiders’ 2025 season is winding down with just six games left to play, including the Week 13 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers. That being said, this week’s mailbag is a more evergreen look at the state of the Raiders. Also, it will be a little abbreviated this week with the holiday. On that note, Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Q: Is Spytek the GM in name only? Do he and Pete even talk anymore? Will he, can he, tell Pete what he wants done, like playing the younger players, replacing Geno with AOC and replacing his son with Joe Philbin as head O line coach? Who’s in charge?!?
A: I completely understand where this question is coming from, seeing as I’m also part of the crew that has grown frustrated with Pete Carroll not playing the rookies enough. But the recent report/leak about Spytek and Carroll not being on the same page about who should be on the field leads me to believe that Spytek is in control of who the team drafts and adds to the roster. In my opinion, what we’re seeing has more to do with him and Carroll not being on the same page rather than the general manager having no power.
I also wouldn’t be surprised if part of Spytek’s frustration is that he brought in guys like Geno Smith, Stone Forsthye and Tyler Lockett to throw Carroll a bone by giving the head coach a few players he’s familiar with, but Carroll doesn’t seem willing to return the favor by giving the rookies more playing time.
To me, there’s a lot of friction in the building between Tom Brady’s guys, Spytek being one of them, and the coaching staff. The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported that Brady pushed for Chip Kelly to be the offensive coordinator, and his frustrations with this season “go beyond the offense”. Then, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero goes on The Rich Eisen Show and says Kelly was struggling to get the play calls in and, basically, was horrible at the basic fundamentals of his job.
The fact that all these leaks are coming out over the last few weeks tells me there’s a lot of finger-pointing going on in Las Vegas right now, and it’s a situation where the front office and coaching staff are at odds. That can come with the territory of being 2-9, as both sides are going to try to wipe their hands clean of the mess that is the 2025 Raiders.
So, as I’m sure most of you are expecting, don’t be surprised if more pink slips are coming over the next couple of months. It’s just a matter of who or what side Mark Davis is going to pick.
Q: If I were Mark Davis, I’d kick Geno Smith off the team after he flipped off Mark’s fans. I don’t think Al would have put up with it. I’d at least tell Pete to sit him out for a game.
A: I hear...
