Raiders players want to ‘learn from’ firing of coach Pete Carroll

Tre Tucker has been through this before.

The Raiders’ decision to fire Pete Carroll on Monday and begin the search for a new coach means the wide receiver will be playing for his fourth coach when he begins his fourth season with the team.

“It’s kind of become something that’s just part of the business for me,” he said at his locker Monday. “It’s kind of just like, ‘OK, what’s next?’

“I just feel like every year it’s something new. But you learn from it. And each person gives you a different perspective to learn from.”

Something about this coaching change feels different to Tucker, though. Not in terms of Carroll, whom he enjoyed playing for even through the trying times of a 3-14 season. But what the future might hold for the Raiders, who have the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft and are well positioned to restock the roster with the second-most salary cap space in the league.

“When you look at teams like the Commanders, the Bears, the Jaguars, who we actually beat last year (2024) and now they just won the AFC South, you just see what one year can do for you,” Tucker said.

Looking forward to change

The mood spanned from optimistic to acceptance in the locker room.

“I don’t make those decisions, but obviously we have a new head coach coming in,” rookie running back Ashton Jeanty said. “Hopefully they just bring in the right guy.”

The combination of being in position to select one of the top quarterbacks in the draft and having plenty of money and cap space to rebuild should make the Raiders an attractive landing spot for a coach.

Tucker said the Raiders need stability.

“You get used to a system and learn it and then it’s gone,” he said. “It’s almost like you’re running for a dollar in the wind, and you finally get close enough to grab it and then it blows away.”

Of course, finding stability will require making the right hire.

Jeanty, who went through a coaching change at Boise State, has seen that bringing in the right coach can help turn around a program quickly.

He didn’t have any names in mind, but did identify some potential traits.

“I think just holding guys accountable when they need it and knowing your players well enough to keep that standard,” Jeanty said. “Then obviously, being the head coach, they’ve got to be a leader.”

While there was a sense of optimism in the locker room for how well the club is positioned to attract top coaching candidates and add to the roster, there was also a collective sense of responsibility in how the season unfolded.

And the price Carroll paid for it.

“We have to do more to produce better,” offensive lineman Alex Cappa said.

Learning lesson

Jeanty said he learned a lot about battling through adversity from Carroll.

“Stay positive,” he said of what lessons he will remember from his first NFL head coach. “Be optimistic. Always. No matter what the situation is.”

Star defensive end Maxx Crosby wasn’t among the players in the locker room, but he did his weekly spot on SiriusXM shortly after the announcement of Carroll’s firing and called the mood around the building “gloomy.”

He said he didn’t have a chance to talk to Carroll, but appreciated playing for him.

“This season didn’t go the way we expected at all, and I don’t think anybody expected we’d be in position to get the No. 1 pick,” Crosby said. “But Pete was as consistent as they come. … He was always awesome to me.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X. Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.