Sportsnaut
Sick of not being able to score points or win games, the Las Vegas Raiders overhauled their coaching staff this offseason. They moved on from an inexperienced former player and hired a 74-year-old former Super Bowl winner with 19 seasons of experience as an NFL head coach.
Hiring Pete Carroll, trading for a franchise quarterback, drafting a potential superstar running back, and hiring Chip Kelly as the offensive coordinator were supposed to fix an offense that ranked 29th in scoring in 2024. It hasn’t worked.
While he is learning a new offense, with unfamiliar pass-catchers, it’s not like Geno Smith is a rookie. If Sam Darnold can thrive with the Seattle Seahawks after changing atmospheres, then Smith should be expected to do the same.
Yet, the Raiders’ QB leads the NFL with nine interceptions. Making matters worse, the Raiders are actually scoring fewer points per game this season than they were in 2024, when Gardner Minshew, Aidan O’Connell, and Desmond Ridder were the starting quarterbacks. Only two teams have scored fewer points than the Raiders have this season.
According to Pro Football Talk, when coach Carroll was recently asked what the Raiders need to do to help Smith get out of his funk, he said they need to dial up more plays for the running game.
Pete’s not going to say it, but Chip Kelly is the one who’s calling the plays in Las Vegas, not coach Carroll. In other words, he’s throwing shade at the play-caller he picked, and it seems like they’re butting heads early on.
Coach Carroll clearly believes the Raiders need to be running more, suggesting Kelly is “relying on the quarterback to do the whole show, sitting in the shotgun.” Carroll says he “never coaches that way.” That’s a pretty blunt and no-nonsense response to the media. But he wasn’t done.
Next, Carroll was asked about Ashton Jeanty’s progress and how they can build off his recent momentum after topping 100 yards from scrimmage in each of his past two games.
You have to read between the lines, but coach Carroll and coach Kelly clearly have some work to do behind the scenes. If not, we could see more changes coming to the Raiders’ staff sooner rather than later.
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