Pete Carroll has not been fired, but the winds appear to be moving in that direction before the Las Vegas Raiders head coach takes on the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday to conclude the regular season.
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The Raiders are a disappointing 2-14 entering Week 18. That’s not what Las Vegas envisioned when they hired Carroll and paired him with veteran quarterback Geno Smith in the offseason.Â
With the Raiders potentially in position to take the No. 1 pick in April, it might not be ideal to task a 74-year-old head coach to develop a rookie quarterback like Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza or Oregon’s Dante Moore.
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Minority owner Tom Brady is expected to be a key factor in the Raiders’ decision at head coach. Last year, Ben Johnson was Brady’s top target. When Johnson chose the Chicago Bears, Las Vegas ultimately decided to bring in Carroll.
Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter have been suggested as potential hires for the Raiders because of their connections to Brady. Flores won four Super Bowls with Brady as an assistant coach on the New England Patriots.
Minter, Brady and Raiders general manager John Spytek have the obvious Michigan connection. Minter would be a strong candidate given his success coaching defenses in the offensive powerhouse that is the AFC West. However, he might not be a great fit for a Las Vegas team that needs a culture rebuild in the offseason and could lose its best player, Maxx Crosby.
In December, Michigan interim head coach Biff Poggi suggested the program had a culture problem in the latter years of the Jim Harbaugh era. Harbaugh and Minter bolted for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2024.
In Los Angeles, Harbaugh and Minter have done a great job taking advantage of the resources of having a franchise quarterback and several key players on a roster that was underutilized by former head coach Brandon Staley.
In contrast, the Raiders need a culture builder as they develop a franchise quarterback, and Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero could be the right guy for the job. Evero, 44, won Super Bowl LVI as the secondary coach/passing game coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams.
Evero was the defensive coordinator with the Denver Broncos under Nathaniel Hackett in 2022 before taking the defensive coordinator gig with the Carolina Panthers. (Evero was offered the interim head coaching job in Denver but turned it down.)
Evero coached under Frank Reich at Carolina and was retained when Dave Canales was named as head coach in 2024. He’s gotten the best out of the Panthers defensive roster devoid of superstar veterans (three-time Pro Bowl pass rusher Brian Burns was traded to the New York Giants in 2024). Evero has helped develop young players into a formidable defense.
Evero is getting buzz in NFL circles for his ability to lead. Per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, he’s expected to be a candidate for the open New York Giants head coaching gig.
“Evero is the defensive coordinator in Carolina and is considered a natural leader who can command the room,” Raanan wrote.
The Raiders need a young coach who can bring energy to a young locker room this offseason, and they need a defensive mind that can do what Mike McDonald did with the Seattle Seahawks, beating out offensive powerhouses in the NFC West to win the division on Saturday night.
The talking point about the NFL’s coaching carousel this season is that there isn’t another sure hire like Ben Johnson on the market. That might be true, but Brady would look like a genius if he finds the next Liam Coen, who has the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first place in the AFC South in his first season as head coach.Â
Evero could be that guy.
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