Things have gone awry for the Las Vegas Raiders. While they weren’t expected to be a Super Bowl contender this season, many thought they’d be better than 2-7.
Head coach Pete Carroll has a long history of winning and usually does a great job of building a culture, but there seems to be a disconnect between the roster and the coaching staff. When the offense plays well, the defense fails, and when the defense shuts down an opponent, the offense can’t do anything.
There’s something going on with the team that hasn’t really been reported on, and defensive tackle Adam Butler made some comments that are stirring speculation.
“It’s very frustrating sometimes, I can’t lie, when the other side isn’t delivering the way you think that they should deliver, and sometimes it’s frustrating when we don’t deliver how we should deliver,” Butler told reporters on Tuesday.
“Everybody can see what’s going on, we know what’s going on and the only thing we can do is do our job. I just focus on doing my job and focusing on helping the team win.”
It’s unclear what he means by “everybody can see what’s going on.” It’s obvious that the team isn’t very good, but it’s possible that there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes.
What Could Be Going on With Raiders?
Sometimes teams are just bad because they lack talent. The Raiders don’t have an overly talented roster, so that’s likely the biggest reason they aren’t good, but Butler’s comments suggest that there could be something else.
The most obvious potential issue could be coaching. Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly has not done a good job this season, and players could be turning on him. He’s paid a lot and isn’t known to form great relationships with players.
Some players could be fed up with the fact that he hasn’t been held accountable for the Raiders’ offensive woes. There could also be frustration that quarterback Geno Smith hasn’t been benched despite his poor play. There are many reasons why Raiders players could be frustrated right now.
Are Big Changes Coming for the Raiders?
Heading into the season, it seemed like a given that Carroll would at least get two of three years to turn the Raiders around, but the team wasn’t expected to be this bad. It still might be too early to put Carroll on the hot seat, but it’s definitely warming up.
What’s not going to help Carroll is that he’s the reason why the team traded a third-round pick for Smith and gave him a big contract extension. The Raiders need to start showing signs of progress. Carroll is 74 years old, so he’s not the kind of coach the team is going to want to be patient with.
Carroll likely has enough juice to keep his job if the Raiders can win another two or three games, but Kelly is very much on the hot seat. The offense has to play better, or there’s a chance he could get fired before the end of the season.
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