The Las Vegas Raiders hired veteran coach Pete Carroll after missing out on Ben Johnson to the Chicago Bears. Carroll's arrival in the AFC West adds yet another prominent coach to the division and reignites a decades-long rivalry with LA Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh.
Carroll and the Raiders are already taking swings with the coaching staff, both in the good and bad variety. On one hand, the Raiders paid up to hire Chip Kelly to be the team's offensive coordinator. On the other hand, Vegas decided to retain defensive coordinator Aaron Graham despite underwhelming results in recent years.
The Raiders made the rest of their coaching staff official on Tuesday and Carroll did something that even Harbaugh hasn't done with the Chargers: hire his family members.
The #Raiders announced their full coaching staff, which includes both of Pete Carroll's sons: Brennan Carroll as run game coordinator/offensive line coach and Nate Carroll as assistant quarterbacks coach.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 12, 2025
Raiders hire Pete Carroll's sons after Jim Harbaugh didn't do the same for the Chargers
Only time will tell if this is a good move for the Raiders or one that will blow up in their face. A head coach hiring their family members can be dicey if the coaches do not get the full buy-in from everyone in the locker room.
Both Brennan Carroll and Nate Carroll previously spent time with their father with the Seattle Seahawks. Brennan left after the 2020 season to go coach in college while Nate left Seattle with his father and spent last season as the Carolina Panthers' pass game coordinator.
If neither guy had NFL experience it would be a harder sell for Pete Carroll to make. With that NFL experience, the hope is that they can come in and do their jobs without any egos being involved.
Of course, humans aren't perfect and if things start to go sideways in specific areas then Carroll's kids are going to be the first coaches who lose the faith of the locker room. It really can be a sensitive situation and that is likely why Harbaugh didn't make the same decision.
Harbaugh had the opportunity to hire his son when he took the Chargers job last January. After all, Harbaugh brought several Michigan coaches with him and reunited with offensive coordinator Greg Roman. If Harbaugh wanted his son in Los Angeles he would be in Los Angeles.
Instead, Jay Harbaugh — ironically — took a special teams coordinator job with the Seahawks. His connection to head coach Mike Macdonald through Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh certainly helped, but he did not need to join his dad's staff.
It could work out for the Raiders and the Carroll family reunion might not even be a storyline during the season. However, with how the Raiders typically operate, it would not be shocking if this ends up being a headache for Raiders fans in the future; a headache Harbaugh completely avoided with the Chargers.