Raiders’ Pete Carroll Set To Smash NFL Record Against Patriots

The New England Patriots and Las Vegas Raiders will collide on Sunday to begin the 2025 NFL regular season. Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and Raiders HC Pete Carroll will both be looking to snag a win in their first games with new teams. But regardless of what the final score reads, Carroll will have made NFL history from the moment he steps on the field.

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Carroll will officially become the oldest head coach in NFL history on Sunday.

“Raiders HC Pete Carroll will set an NFL record today: At 73 years and 357 days old today, Carroll will become the oldest head coach in NFL history, even if he hardly acts like it,” Schefter posted to X on Sunday morning.

It’s fitting that Carroll will be achieving this milestone against his former team. Carroll was the head coach of the Patriots from 1997 to 1999. Then again, he’s been the head coach of a handful of teams through the years in his illustrious career.

Carroll’s first NFL job was over four decades ago as the defensive backs coach for the Buffalo Bills in 1984. He took an identical role with the Minnesota Vikings in 1985 and by 1990 had earned the defensive coordinator job with the New York Jets. He was named the Jets’ head coach four years later but was fired after one season.

Carroll then served as DC for the San Francisco 49ers (1995-1996) before taking the Patriots job. When Carroll was fired by the Pats after three seasons, he had a 33-31 record as an NFL head coach. He turned his attention to the college game, where he’d begun his career as a grad assistant back in 1973.

This was the beginning of Carroll’s “modern era” as he found awesome success at the helm of USC before returning to the NFL for a long stint with the Seattle Seahawks (2010-2023) that featured a Super Bowl victory and multiple Super Bowl appearances.

Carroll has had a heck of a career, and the Hall of Fame will come knocking one day soon. For now, he’s focused on going 1-0 with his new squad, but the Patriots might have something to say about that on Sunday.