Pete Carroll Praises Geno Smith, Predicts QB Will Rebound with Jets After Trade From Raiders

Things did not go according to plan for Pete Carroll and Geno Smith last season with the Las Vegas Raiders, but the head coach still believes in his former quarterback.

After the Raiders, who fired Carroll after going 3-14 in 2025, traded Smith to the New York Jets, the coach told ESPN's Rich Cimini he believes the signal-caller will bounce back with the AFC East team and surpass expectations.

"We should've coached him better," he said.

"He's a phenomenal quarterback, he really is," Carroll said. "He had a fantastic offseason and preseason with us, and he comes out in the first game, has a great first game. It was all fitting. It was exactly the right time for us. Then we just faltered and faltered. We didn't do well enough, coaching.

"We should've had him better prepared for the things that happened, and that wouldn't have happened," he continued. "I take a lot of responsibility in that. We didn't prepare him well enough in the offseason even though he looked great and we felt we had everything lined up. It was very, very disappointing for us both."

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the Raiders sent Smith and a 2026 seventh-round pick to the Jets in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round pick, which was particularly notable since New York was the team that selected the West Virginia product in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft.

"Complete full circle moment back to where it all began," Smith said, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. "I'm excited to connect with my new teammates and coaches and everyone in the building as well as build a new relationship with the fan base and community."

Smith didn't live up to expectations in his first stint with the Jets when he went 12-18 as a starter with 28 touchdown passes to 36 interceptions. However, he turned things around with the Seattle Seahawks and was a back-to-back Pro Bowler in 2022 and 2023.

Carroll was Smith's coach with the Seahawks and traded for him to join the Raiders ahead of the 2025 campaign.

But they were unable to replicate that form.

Smith led the NFL with 17 interceptions and went 2-13 as a starter. His tenure with the team did not last long as a result, and now he will look to turn things around where it all started.