The winningest coach in the Seattle Seahawks’ 50-year history is currently leading the Las Vegas Raiders. The Seahawks have not won a playoff game since 2019, and have only made the playoffs once in the last four years, missing again in 2024 despite a 10-7 record. Despite protestations from current Seattle coach Mike McDonald, the organization may lose quarterback Geno Smith to the Raiders under new coach Pete Carroll, who has won 137 regular season games in 14 seasons in Seattle, more than any other coach.
Carroll also had a 10-9 playoff record with the Seahawks, leading the organization to its only two Super Bowl appearances and one championship, defeating the Denver Broncos 43-8 in Super Bowl 48. He will also aim to restore the Raiders’ fortunes. That once-proud franchise finished 4-13 in 2024, the Raiders’ poorest record since 1962, when they went 1-13 as the Oakland Raiders in the third season of the original American Football League, eight years before the league joined with the NFL.
The Raiders haven’t won the Super Bowl since 1983, when they were based in Los Angeles.
To get the Raiders back there, Carroll is missing one key component: a quarterback. According to Levi Damien of USA Today Raiderswire, the Raiders’ victory could turn out to be the Seahawks’ defeat.
Carroll May Target Geno Smith as Raiders QB
“The last time Pete Carroll was on an NFL sideline as a head coach, Geno Smith was the starting quarterback. The Seahawks went 17-16 in Carroll’s final two seasons in Seattle, with Smith making two Pro Bowl appearances,” Damien wrote on Saturday. “So, naturally when considering who Carroll might want behind center in Las Vegas, Smith would be at or near the top of that list.”
Seattle’s coach McDonald has publicly declared that he feels “we can win a championship with Geno Smith.” We strongly believe this and can’t wait to come back to work with him.”
What if they don’t? And, with Smith turning 35 in Week Six of the 2025 season and in the final year of a three-year, $75 million contract — with a cap hit of $44.5 million — the Seahawks will undoubtedly be planning for the future at the all-important position.
According to NBC Sports Boston NFL insider journalist Phil Perry, that futility might come from current New England Patriots backup quarterback Joe Milton III.
