After a year away from the game, former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll is officially returning to football. On Friday morning it was announced the Las Vegas Raiders were signing the Seahawks legend to be their next head coach.
Carroll had interviewed with the Chicago Bears and Las Vegas Raiders, but word broke on Thursday he had spoken with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. However, it is evident the meeting with Jones was not going to produce anything, as Carroll has now been named head coach for the Raiders. Perhaps it was a leverage play from Carroll to secure the Raiders job.
Candidates have now been informed it’s Pete Carroll — the new coach of the #Raiders. https://t.co/TmQUEuKIS9
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 24, 2025
The Raiders will now be Carroll’s fourth team coached in the NFL, and his return to the AFC. Carroll was once the head coach for the New York Jets for one season in 1994, then eventually became the New England Patriots’ top man from 1997-1999.
Of course, Carroll’s return to football… specifically the AFC West… means something else: the renewal of his rivalry with Jim Harbaugh, who is currently the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.
Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh, who had plenty of battles in the NFC West with Seattle and San Francisco, as well as in college at USC and Stanford, are now set to face off again—this time in the AFC West, with Carroll in Las Vegas and Harbaugh in Los Angeles. pic.twitter.com/2CSeh71MCv
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 24, 2025
Carroll joins a stacked-to-the-brim division. Obviously the biggest hurdle being the Kansas City Chiefs, led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid. But he will also have to contend with the aforementioned Harbaugh-led Chargers, as well as a Denver Broncos team on the rise with Sean Payton and Bo Nix. The common thread for all his opponents? They all clearly have a franchise quarterback. Carroll’s first task will be to find his legitimate starting quarterback, and will have to do so fast.
One last thing… the irony of Carroll joining the Raiders is the fact Tom Brady, a partial owner of the Raiders, is now technically his boss. Carroll and Brady faced off three times when both were active in the league, including (information about the Super Bowl redacted), and winning two of the meetings. Now, the former foes are united in Las Vegas.
