Graney: Raiders never got any better under Pete Carroll

Another end to a Raiders season, another head coaching search.

Another reset is upon us.

Man, this stuff is getting old.

It was the correct call to move on from Pete Carroll on Monday. The Raiders never got any better under him. They beat New England to open the season and summarily regressed from that point.

He brought in a quarterback who led the league in interceptions. He fired two coordinators during the season. The offense, for a host of reasons, didn’t offer any semblance of, well, much of anything.

They didn’t win a bunch as Carroll had predicted. Didn’t win much at all. The only bright spot to an otherwise forgettable season is the fact the Raiders will now pick first in the NFL draft.

Maybe, just maybe, there is a quarterback of the future waiting to selected.

But this again is on owner Mark Davis, who will now hire his fourth head coach in three years. This again falls at his feet. Maybe also blame should be pointed at minority owner Tom Brady, who undoubtedly had to offer positive thoughts on Carroll before any offer was made.

Until this organization admits it is a full rebuild away from going anywhere, it will continue to go nowhere. This isn’t an overnight fix. There are too many holes to fill. Too many weaknesses across a roster.

Not just this season. This level of failure has been built over time. This certainly isn’t all on Carroll. He just happened to be the latest one to inherit the mess. But he just couldn’t do enough.

Carroll either overestimated his team’s talent or his ability to get more out of less. No matter which one, the end result was the same. Lots of losing. Too much of it to save his job.

So it’s onto another coaching search, another stab at getting things right, another opportunity to find the person capable of turning things around.

The smart move: If the Raiders indeed get their quarterback, hire a young offensive-minded coach who can show mutual growth with the player would be ideal.

He’s out there. Several teams across the NFL have proved as much over the last year. So is a major rebuild in play.

Embrace both ideals and maybe, just maybe, there is hope for the future. Don’t and it will be more of the same.

Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.