After more than a decade of defining success in Seattle with a traditional, conservative style, Pete Carroll has returned to NFL sidelines—but this time with a twist. Now 73 and heading into a new chapter as the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, Carroll is embracing a dramatic shift in philosophy: he’s going all-in on analytics.
Carroll, one of just three coaches to win both a college football national championship and a Super Bowl, brings a Hall-of-Fame pedigree to a Raiders franchise hungry for sustained relevance. But more striking than his resume is his newfound openness to change. Long criticized for his resistance to modern football trends during the twilight of his Seahawks tenure, Carroll now sounds like a coach reborn.
Pete Carroll’s Las Vegas Raiders Reinvention: Old-School Wisdom Meets New-Age Analytics
“There’s patterns to the game that I [began to see] differently,” Carroll told The Athletic‘s Tashan Reed in February. “A lot of it was the analytic outlook of it. I’m really excited to convey those things that we take a look at differently than I have before.”
That transformation didn’t happen overnight. After parting ways with Seattle following the 2023 season, Carroll spent his sabbatical studying the evolving nature of the sport—from data-driven decision-making to the aggressive play-calling trends reshaping the league.
In Seattle, Carroll’s conservative approach—particularly on offense—became a sticking point. Even as the rest of the league leaned into pass-heavy schemes, aggressive fourth-down calls, and analytical edge-seeking, Carroll stuck to his run-first, risk-averse roots. That stubbornness contributed to the Seahawks’ gradual slide and ultimately played a role in the franchise moving on from its legendary coach.
Now, in Las Vegas, Carroll is leaning into what once made him uncomfortable.
And he’s not doing it alone.
The Raiders’ front office, led by new general manager John Spytek, has doubled down on data. Spytek, who leaned heavily on analytics during his time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, retained key members of Las Vegas’ existing analytics team and hired Mark Thewes as Senior Vice President of Football Operations. Thewes, a former analytics lead in Denver, confirmed Carroll has not only welcomed the modern approach—but actively encourages it.
“He’s totally receptive,” Thewes said in May. “He challenges us to come up with new ways to challenge his ways of thinking. … We’re trying to organize the data in a way that is supportive to the decision-making process.”
For a franchise trying to navigate the brutal AFC West—where all four teams made the playoffs last season and the Kansas City Chiefs remain the dominant force—innovation isn’t a luxury. It’s a requirement.
The Raiders are signaling they’re ready to compete differently.
Their 2025 offseason reflected that strategic shift. Las Vegas boldly selected standout running back Ashton Jeanty in the first round, a player Carroll could lean on to reestablish the kind of backfield stability he thrived with in Seattle. They also traded for veteran quarterback Geno Smith, reuniting Carroll with a familiar face and providing the roster with experience under center.
It’s a formula that blends Carroll’s old-school fundamentals—establish the run, build from defense, control the tempo—with the cutting-edge tools of a modern NFL operation.
And it’s already energizing a franchise long searching for direction.
Carroll’s renewed embrace of analytics doesn’t dilute his competitive fire—it enhances it. As he put it:
“I have a really strong philosophy about how we do things and why we do what we do. But if you’re competing, then you have to be dynamic enough to continue to grow and expand.”
For the Raiders, this isn’t just a coaching hire. It’s a recalibration of their entire football identity. With Carroll at the helm—and now aligned with a data-forward front office—Las Vegas isn’t just betting on experience. They’re betting on evolution.
And in today’s NFL, that might be the most important gamble of all.