Geno Smith, Pete Carroll ‘here at the right time together’ with Las Vegas Raiders

HENDERSON, Nev. – Two pillars of the Seattle Seahawks’ success are cornerstones of the Las Vegas Raiders’ latest rebuilding project.

Pete Carroll and Geno Smith – formerly Seattle’s head coach and starting quarterback, respectively – have reprised their leading roles in Las Vegas, joining the franchise’s ambitious makeover from the owner’s suite to the field. In addition to luring the Super Bowl-winning coach and Smith, a two-time Pro Bowler, controlling owner Mark Davis brought in several minority partners recently, including seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady.

The reorganization featuring high-profile names has breathed new life into a once-prominent organization that has appeared to be lost in the desert for years. Now, Carroll and Smith, who occupy the most important jobs on any NFL team, start anew after departing from Seattle unceremoniously.

At 73, does Carroll still have what it takes to direct another spectacular turnaround as he did in Seattle, and before that in the college ranks at the University of Southern California? Will Smith, a one-time journeyman backup who blossomed into a productive starter under Carroll, finally stop the Raiders’ quarterback carousel of the past two seasons?

Raiders fans are eager for the answers to those questions, hoping the team is on the right path finally after making so many wrong turns. In the Raiders’ preseason debut Thursday, Smith went 1-of-3 for 15 yards on one series in Las Vegas’ 23-23 tie against the Seahawks.

With eyes wide open, Carroll and Smith jumped in. They’re where they want to be, and eager to help change the Raiders’ sad story.

“This opportunity for us to be together here, at this time in our careers, is really just great fortune for us,” Carroll said. “I know him as well as I’ve known a quarterback. And to bring him into this program, he’s the guy we needed. He’s the leader we needed.”

On another scorcher here (the temperature would hit 106) late last week during training camp, Smith encouraged his teammates to stay focused. He did his part by making several nifty throws and remaining upbeat throughout the morning practice as drenched fans cheered while braving the heat at the Raiders’ team headquarters.

That’s the energy Smith has provided daily since he arrived from Seattle in March in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft (with the pick, the Seahawks selected former Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe). The Raiders also assumed the remaining $31 million on Smith’s contract, helping the Seahawks with their salary cap.

Through his words and deeds, Smith has pushed players to raise their expectations, “and he really has spoken well when he’s had his chances,” Carroll said. “But it’s more than that. It’s what he’s done. From the moment he’s gotten here, he’s the first guy in the building and the last guy out of the building. That whole thing.

“He does everything about it in between. He lives it. And he has performed great. Like out here today. From the moment he walked in the building, he was the offensive leader. He was the voice. And he didn’t have to do anything special to do that. He just does what he does. He’s such a worker. And he’s so competitive and so consistent.”

For a generation, the Raiders have been anything but competitive and consistent.

The franchise has produced a winning record in only two of the past 22 seasons. The Raiders’ most recent postseason victory (2003) came during former President George W. Bush’s first term in office. Excluding interim coaches, Carroll is the team’s fourth head coach since 2021.

Change must start with the players, Smith believes.

“For me, it’s about integrity,” he said. “When you want to establish a winning culture, when you talk about trying to be a winner and having a winning team, players have to be accountable. We’ve all got to be coachable, we’ve all got to be accountable to one another, and we’ve all got to be accountable to ourselves.

“To do that, the players have to take control of the locker room and say, ‘This is who we’re going to be.’ That’s non-negotiable. We have to be able to trust each other. We have to be able to depend on each other. We have to have that foundation if you really want to go out there and try to build something great. As a team leader, I’m going to keep talking about that and keep leading [by example]. I’ve seen it work.”

Beginning the 2022 season, Smith had been a backup in Seattle for two seasons. He was on his fourth team since entering the league as a second-round pick of the New York Jets in 2013 out of West Virginia. After Seattle traded longtime starter Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos, Carroll named Smith the team’s starter, reviving Smith’s career.

That season, Smith led the NFL with a 69.8% completion percentage. He had 4,282 passing yards and 30 touchdowns with 11 interceptions. Smith was named to his first Pro Bowl, and he was selected the Associated Press Comeback Player of the Year. The Seahawks made the last of their 10 playoff appearances under Carroll.

Although Carroll directed the best 14-year run in Seahawks history – which included two NFC Championships and a Super Bowl title – in 2023 they failed to advance past the divisional round since the 2014 season. Before the 2024 season, team owner Jody Allen and Carroll agreed to part ways. With Carroll off the sidelines and in an advisory role last season, Seattle missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time since the 2008-2009 seasons.

The Seahawks and Smith failed to make progress on the contract extension Smith wanted, leading to his departure. When Carroll, who still has the fire in his belly to coach, joined the Raiders, Smith and his supporters hoped the men would be reunited.

For Smith, rejoining Carroll was the best-case scenario, said Quincy Avery, Smith’s personal quarterback coach.

“Whenever you get the opportunity to go back to a coach who you’re already really comfortable with, and who champions you, it’s a great situation,” Avery said in a phone interview. “Pete Carroll is someone who supports Geno in the building. When you have that, you have the opportunity to take your game to another level.”

Wanting Smith to feel more supported than he did at the end of his time with the Seahawks, the Raiders signed him to a two-year, $75-million extension that includes $66.5 million guaranteed. In their actions, the Raiders have shown Smith that he’s their guy, and “he will have and added chip on his shoulder,” Avery said. “Geno is always very motivated just by what he expects from himself.

“But just the way in which he left [Seattle], the opportunity he probably should have still had there, the money that he probably should have gotten there … he had to go somewhere else to get it. For anyone, that’s going to be frustrating. I mean, he’s human. So, yeah, it definitely does add fuel to the fire. And when you add that to the way Geno works just normally, it only will motivate him more for sure.”

The perpetually upbeat and ultra-competitive Carroll isn’t lacking for motivation, either.

Anyone who watched Carroll work as he restored USC to national prominence and then made the Seahawks into perennial playoff participants knows he wouldn’t be satisfied in a figurehead gig. Carroll needs to be in the action – teaching, encouraging, competing.

It’s no surprise that banners displaying Carroll’s mantra, “Always Compete,” now hang at the Raiders’ complex. In terms of winning in the regular season, Carroll is the Raiders’ most successful coach since the late John Madden, who last led the team in 1978.

Carroll, who turns 74 on Sept. 15, shows no signs of slowing down. At practice, he displays more energy than many people half his age, bouncing around, barking orders and fist-pumping while interacting with players jubilantly.

Smith expected nothing less.

“He was coaching me last year even when he was out, so I knew” Carroll wanted to return to the sidelines, Smith said. “I’ve always had great reverence for him, and our relationship has grown so much. Man, I look at him like a grandfather. I just want to continue to make him proud. We’re here at the right time together.”

Recharged, Carroll is back in his element.

“I’m doing it ’cause I love doing it,” he said. “To have a chance to be back in the league again, and with what Mark did with the whole ownership group, and Tommy [Brady] being here, the whole thing had a fresh start. Now, let’s go. Let’s be wide open. Let’s go for it.”

With the Seahawks in their past, Carroll and Smith are doing that. And after so many frustrating starts and stops, the Raiders hope the proven duo will take them far again.