Of course, the Raiders’ magical season doesn’t fall entirely on Smith’s shoulders. Other issues have increased and led to ineffectiveness in all areas.
Rookie quarterback Ashton Jeanty, the No. 6 overall pick, turned in a small handful of monster games that proved worthy of such a high pick. However, those Herculean hoops made his mostly disappointing debut season all the more maddening, as he was used too sparingly at times and almost always felt difficult sledding behind one of the league’s worst offensive lines.
Although he’s turned things on late with four TDs over his last three games, Brock Bowers had minimal help in the passing department. He missed the first half of the season with a knee injury and was placed on injured reserve with two games remaining as Las Vegas fell short of landing the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft. So was pass rusher Maxx Crosby, despite playing 100% of the defensive snaps in his last five starts. Jakobi Meyers, the team’s starting WR1 this season, was traded to the Jaguars at the deadline, played a role in unlocking the second tier of Jacksonville’s offense and signed a three-year extension to stay in Duval.
While the defense has fared slightly better, closer to league averages in passing yards and rushing yards given up, there is a void of big names outside of Crosby, a deficit that became more apparent in the months after the Raiders released defensive tackle Christian Wilkins in late July.
There has been a lot of work involved in trying to get things right, but Carroll has long specialized in turning around institutions.
That’s part of the reason he made sense as head coach of the Raiders, who before his hiring had experienced just two playoff appearances in 22 seasons since losing Super Bowl XXXVII.
However, with Las Vegas’ foundation lacking in real difference, the scope of the rebuild ahead is daunting — even with the first overall pick in the ’26 draft. Perhaps the timeline to compete for division titles doesn’t quite align with Carroll, already the oldest head coach in NFL history, leading the way.
If he doesn’t continue wearing the headset elsewhere, his NFL head coaching career will end much like it started.
At age 43, he was fired after his first season with the Jets after finishing 6-10. Now, at age 74, he has been fired after his first season with the Raiders following a 3-14 campaign.
The Raiders, meanwhile, must work to hire yet another head coach after their three most recent hires each lasted less than two full seasons.