🔗 Share this article

Tom Brady committed 23 NFL seasons to a singular mission: establishing himself as the greatest quarterback in NFL history. He achieved that dream. Today, in his post-playing career, Brady has ventured into various pursuits. He works as a broadcaster for Fox. He's involved in development ventures in Birmingham. He has promoted digital assets. He's expanding American football to Saudi Arabia. He operates a popular YouTube channel. He replicated his family pet. Brady's post-career ventures appear either diverse or unfocused, depending on your viewpoint.

Secondary ventures are one thing. But managing a professional franchise is not a part-time job. Alongside his other roles, Brady functions as the unofficial football leader for the Las Vegas franchise, presently the least successful team in the league.

The Raiders fell to 2–9 on this past weekend after enduring a decisive loss to the Browns. The Raiders didn't just get defeated; they were humiliated by a struggling team with a QB making his first NFL start. The Raiders' offense averaged less than three yards per play before meaningless action in the final period. Geno Smith was sacked 10 times and faced pressure 46 times, a single-game high for any franchise this season. On the defensive side, Las Vegas allowed big plays to a Cleveland offensive unit that has been dysfunctional for most of the season. Any way you slice it, it was a comprehensive beatdown. At least Brady didn't have to witness it. The architect of this current situation was sitting in Dallas on the network coverage for Eagles-Cowboys.

A Collection of Questionable Decisions

In fairness to Brady, he has only spent one season guiding the team's personnel choices, becoming a minority owner of the franchise in 2024. But he was accountable for every significant move last summer, and each one has backfired. Those decisions have resulted in the Raiders as the least entertaining and directionless team in the NFL.

This wasn't supposed to be a lengthy reconstruction. The Raiders didn't hire 74-year-old Pete Carroll, among a select group to win both a Super Bowl and a college national championship, to oversee a long slog back up the league table. He was supposed to return the team to relevance and then transition them with a stable base in place. Conversely, Carroll is facing the possibility of being fired after one season in Vegas, and the Raiders are looking at another restart.

Organizational Turmoil

This isn't all Brady's fault, of course. Mark Davis is still the controlling stakeholder. Davis has churned through coaches and executives at a rate that would make even the Jets feel embarrassed. The Raiders are on their seventh head coach and fifth general manager in 15 years, a instability that has eliminated any clear strategic direction. Still, it's Brady's fingerprints that are evident throughout this version of the Raiders. "This is the Tom Brady show," NFL Insider Tom Pelissero commented last offseason. "He's been deeply engaged," Carroll stated of Brady at his first press conference in January. "This is his chance to put his stamp on a franchise."

Brady made the key hires and placed the Raiders on this directionless path. He appointed a close associate, his college buddy and colleague in Tampa, to serve as GM. He greenlit a team strategy to Carroll's preference, including dealing a draft selection for Geno Smith and selecting a RB No 6 overall despite having a poor-performing O-line. He lured Chip Kelly away from the college ranks, making him the top-earning OC in the NFL. And he signed off on handing a flaky blocking unit – the bedrock for that coordinator and ball carrier – to Carroll's son.

Disastrous Results

It's been a complete failure. The previous year's Raiders were a team with limited success, but they were scrappy and resilient. This year's Raiders are a confused mess. Carroll has installed an outdated defensive philosophy, the quarterback looks washed and the Raiders' blocking unit has submarined any aspirations for Ashton Jeanty and the ground attack. At the very least, Carroll was expected to bring energy. But the Raiders were uninspired on Sunday, waiting for the plays to the conclusion of the game.

The contrast with Cleveland was stark. The situation often seems dire with the Browns, but there are glimmers of optimism. Myles Garrett, now just five sacks away from the NFL single-season record, leads a dominant defensive unit. And there is optimism around the impressive first-year players that includes two potential stars – a dynamic runner at RB and a skilled defender at LB. There is also the rookie QB, who may not be The Answer at QB, but who is a viable option in the short-term.

Admittedly, it was against the Raiders' defensive unit, but Sanders demonstrated that the stage was not too big for him. With a full week to get ready, he was effective, accepting what the opposition gave him and displaying flashes of creativity. Sanders became the first Cleveland rookie QB to win his first start since 1995.

Absence of Vision

Sanders and the rest of the Browns' first-year players represent promise. That's a reflection the Raiders don't want to look into. Good organizations recognize their position in the league hierarchy: you're either a championship candidate, a frisky playoff team, or undergoing reconstruction. Vegas began the season believing they were a few adjustments away from respectability. Despite the clear indications to the contrary, they haven't pivoted during the season. Similar to the Browns, Vegas should be playing young players to find out what they have for the future. But only two rookies have seen significant action. There has reportedly already been disagreement between the coaches and the front office regarding the limited playing time for two young blockers, despite the o-line being a weak point. First-year pass catchers Jack Bech and Dont'e Thornton Jr have totaled nine catches in eleven contests, despite the lack of spark in the passing game. Carroll continues to roll out experienced veterans on defense over young players in need of experience.

Unclear Direction

What is the future direction? Will Carroll be back or Spytek or Smith? And who actually makes those choices, Brady or Davis? How can a team operate when its most powerful decision-maker logs in occasionally, signs off major organizational decisions, and then vanishes on side quests?

It's going to be a struggle for the Raiders to get better – and they are in a conference filled with perennial playoff contenders. At the same time, other reconstructing teams have paths. The Jets are loaded with upcoming selections. The Tennessee and New York have promising young quarterbacks. The Raiders have nothing. No core. No franchise QB. No identity. No plan.

The single factor more problematic than being bad in the NFL is not recognizing you're bad. The Raiders don't know where they are, what they are building, or who will call the shots in the offseason.

Tom Brady once excelled at football through ruthless focus. The Raiders could benefit from more than limited attention of it.