Pete Carroll Addresses Job Status, Raiders HC Was 'Blindly Optimistic' Before Season

It's safe to say things have not gone according to plan for Pete Carroll in his first season as the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.

But he still doesn't think he is coaching for his job following an eighth straight loss Sunday.

"No, I don't feel like that at all. I really don't," Carroll told reporters Monday. "I'm well beyond that. I don't feel like that."

The 74-year-old also said it will be "necessary" that he oversees a rebuild even though he didn't think it would take so long to start winning.

"Blindly optimistic as I am, I thought we would come in here and we would have a big factor on this club and we would be able to find success that we would be proud of," Carroll said. "And right now, it doesn't feel like that."

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The optimism wasn't completely unwarranted.

Las Vegas selected running back Ashton Jeanty in the first round, brought in Geno Smith at quarterback, and had the Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers combination in the aerial attack. Throw in Maxx Crosby leading the defense, and there were pieces in place.

Carroll himself is also a Super Bowl winning coach from his time on the Seattle Seahawks, and then-offensive coordinator Chip Kelly had just helped lead Ohio State to a national title in the same role.

Yet the Raiders fell to 2-12 with Sunday's 31-0 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in a game that felt like something of a rock bottom for arguably the worst team in the league.

They managed 75 yards of total offense with quarterback Kenny Pickett taking four sacks and throwing an interception while Jeanty averaged 3.9 yards per carry.

It was an ugly showing that underscored just how far away the Raiders are from being a realistic contender in the AFC. How Carroll and the front office addresses the roster in the upcoming offseason will ultimately determine whether they can close the gap in 2026.