ESPN: Inside Raiders' 2025 collapse, Tom Brady's influence
- ALLRAIDERWORLD21
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ESPN: Inside Raiders' 2025 collapse, Tom Brady's influence
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/475 ... ysfunction
Good read..here’s an excerpt on the Oline..
"A lot of guys were out of their natural position," left tackle Kolton Miller told ESPN. "It's not easy, but [Brennan Carroll] tried to get the best of us together each week."
An agent of a Raiders offensive lineman said that his client told him the position group met multiple times on their own with Smith and Jeanty, and specifically without coaches, so the quarterback and running back could talk to them about how they wanted the offensive line to create blocks.
"It was that bad," the agent told ESPN. "They were meeting on their own and trying to figure it out together, which I have never heard of in my history of working in this league."
"There is some sort of nepotism going on," a fourth agent of a Raiders player said.
Good read..here’s an excerpt on the Oline..
"A lot of guys were out of their natural position," left tackle Kolton Miller told ESPN. "It's not easy, but [Brennan Carroll] tried to get the best of us together each week."
An agent of a Raiders offensive lineman said that his client told him the position group met multiple times on their own with Smith and Jeanty, and specifically without coaches, so the quarterback and running back could talk to them about how they wanted the offensive line to create blocks.
"It was that bad," the agent told ESPN. "They were meeting on their own and trying to figure it out together, which I have never heard of in my history of working in this league."
"There is some sort of nepotism going on," a fourth agent of a Raiders player said.
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- Sloth_Fratelli
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- Rainman56
- RaiderandBulldog
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So we are still a mess.
What else is new?
What else is new?
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Xramfan
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“ "Why couldn't they get the coach and the QB that they wanted?" asked a personnel executive for another NFL team. "Because people view that place as a place of constant dysfunction. And now Tom is involved and what did this year look like? More dysfunction. Why would people that have options and choices be interested?"


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Hellbound
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So a few people that previously got fired by the organization have something bad to say about it? Say it isn't so!
- DeathStar24
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Playoff hopes? Who TF thought playoffs before the start of the season?
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raider_kin
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At least it sounds like it wasn't Spytek who chose Carroll.
And more than ever, Brady needs to pick a career. And if he picks the Raiders over announcing he has to tell Doofus to butt out. I don't think either will happen. Mark's gotta sell the team.
Not sure the Silver and Black win another Super Bowl in my lifetime.
And more than ever, Brady needs to pick a career. And if he picks the Raiders over announcing he has to tell Doofus to butt out. I don't think either will happen. Mark's gotta sell the team.
Not sure the Silver and Black win another Super Bowl in my lifetime.
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- ALLRAIDERWORLD21
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What funny is most of the stuff in the article, the writer could have just come to this forum and read some threads as we have more of a pulse on this team than Pete did..
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JRaider17
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The Brennan Carroll stuff is even worse than imagined, and we had very low expectations for him.
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Attyla
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So Brady wanted Johnson but the team was so f[raiders_icon]cked up we could not get him. We wanted Stafford but that could not get done. It was not Brady who got Carroll, but Doofus. Carroll knew the line was being screwed up but it was his kid. Carroll calls out the offense and Kelly just yawns. Players meeting on the sly because everyone is screwing around.
Sounds like Wednesday with the Raiders
Sounds like Wednesday with the Raiders
- ALLRAIDERWORLD21
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Yeah he wasn't doing shit and had no accountability. This is a case where I wish Al was still alive-- He would have ran that Jackass out of the building so fast without a 2nd thought that he was Pete's son.JRaider17 wrote: Tue Jan 06, 2026 11:26 am The Brennan Carroll stuff is even worse than imagined, and we had very low expectations for him.
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Jeevo
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This. He needs to be there full time or hand it off completely to Spytek and just be a sounding board with no real powers.
"If he's going to help with the organization, he needs to be there 24/7, that's the way I look at it," says Ken Herock, former Raiders player and personnel director, who helped Mark Davis in the searches for McDaniels/Ziegler and Pierce/Telesco. "I don't want an outside adviser giving me advice on something for an hour, and then that's it."
"It's a full-time job running a football team, making decisions in personnel," said a former Raiders assistant coach. "And they got a guy who calls games on Sunday giving them input on who they should hire and sign as a QB."
"Tom has never run a team," said a former Raiders personnel executive. "I keep telling people, like Tom has all this influence, but Tom isn't in the building and he doesn't have any experience with this."
"If he's going to help with the organization, he needs to be there 24/7, that's the way I look at it," says Ken Herock, former Raiders player and personnel director, who helped Mark Davis in the searches for McDaniels/Ziegler and Pierce/Telesco. "I don't want an outside adviser giving me advice on something for an hour, and then that's it."
"It's a full-time job running a football team, making decisions in personnel," said a former Raiders assistant coach. "And they got a guy who calls games on Sunday giving them input on who they should hire and sign as a QB."
"Tom has never run a team," said a former Raiders personnel executive. "I keep telling people, like Tom has all this influence, but Tom isn't in the building and he doesn't have any experience with this."
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Jeevo
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Just crazy when you think about it. like what the f[raiders_icon]ck was he even thinking?JRaider17 wrote: Tue Jan 06, 2026 11:26 am The Brennan Carroll stuff is even worse than imagined, and we had very low expectations for him.
- haji81872
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Ken Herock suggest McDaniels and Pierce, but we should listen to him. A former assistant who obviously sucked and got fired, who cares. A former executive who had a hand in putting together this cluster comments, yawn. SJeevo wrote: Tue Jan 06, 2026 11:37 am This. He needs to be there full time or hand it off completely to Spytek and just be a sounding board with no real powers.
"If he's going to help with the organization, he needs to be there 24/7, that's the way I look at it," says Ken Herock, former Raiders player and personnel director, who helped Mark Davis in the searches for McDaniels/Ziegler and Pierce/Telesco. "I don't want an outside adviser giving me advice on something for an hour, and then that's it."
"It's a full-time job running a football team, making decisions in personnel," said a former Raiders assistant coach. "And they got a guy who calls games on Sunday giving them input on who they should hire and sign as a QB."
"Tom has never run a team," said a former Raiders personnel executive. "I keep telling people, like Tom has all this influence, but Tom isn't in the building and he doesn't have any experience with this."
Honestly, unless you put you name on something I could care less what you have to say. The players who put there names on their quotes have all my respect. The rest of the commenters in the article, I could care less. They are on the outside looking in and honestly most of them don't say anything that we on the forum couldn't have said.
- NoThanksSir
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That article was a great read. Some stuff was eye opening, but ultimately I'm not surprised by any of it. I think it was clear from Day 1 Pete and Spytek was an arranged marriage. With hindsight we should have known it could end up as bad as it did.