Add Michael Mayer to the list of Las Vegas Raiders who are excited to have Pete Carroll as his coach.
Mayer raved about the Raiders’ culture under Carroll as part of his media availability after practice Sunday.
Mayer, the third-year tight end out of Notre Dame, is on his third coach in his three seasons in the desert. Carroll, the oldest coach in the NFL at age 73, still has all the requisite energy of a coach half his age, which is inspiring the young Raiders.
What Did Michael Mayer Say About Pete Carroll?
The Raiders replaced Josh McDaniels with Antonio Pierce in 2023 then fired Pierce after they went 4-13 a season ago.
So Las Vegas added Carroll, the longtime Seattle Seahawks coach, to clean the culture since he is the fifth coach in as many seasons since Jon Gruden was fired in 2021.
According to Mayer, it has worked so far.
“The culture has been great,” Mayer said. “The positivity, the uplifting, the teaching that has come from the place of love.
“In terms of relationship base, starting with [Carroll], starting with [Raiders GM John] Spytek and then all the way down … I’m really excited about that.”
According to Mayer, the relationship started with a conversation with Carroll during the off-season where the tight end sought Carroll’s wisdom.
“That was like an hour-, hour-and-a-half-long conversation,” Mayer said. “I think I just needed to get a little bit of Pete’s perspective on what he was trying to do when he came in here and what type of person he was and what kind of coach he is, and man he’s awesome.
“I just want to listen to him talk and give motivational speeches all [darn] day long.”
Mayer has sensed the good vibes from Carroll, but the players have bought in so far too. That’s important to Mayer, since the Raiders have lost double-digit games in six of the past nine seasons and have not won a playoff game since the 2002 AFC Championship Game.
“There’s a lot of just great camaraderie, team community, and I think that’s kind of the first step in terms of winning games,” Mayer said. “It really is. You’ve got to be together. You’ve got to be on the same page all the time. You have to talk. You have to communicate, and it’s not really ‘my way or the highway.’ That’s not what we’re doing here. We want to win games and we want to do it the best way possible.”
What Did Michael Mayer Say About Brock Bowers?
Not every team can boast a 1-2 tight end punch that the Raiders can, since Mayer alongside the runner-up for the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Brock Bowers.
So Mayer, a second-round pick in 2023, and Bowers, who was picked 13th in 2024, have big plans for the 2025 season.
“There are more 12 [package, with two tight ends] plays coming in, and me and Brock are very excited about that,” Mayer said. “We’ve got a lot of great tight ends in that tight-ends room.
“We can block; we can run; we can catch; we can make people miss. We’re excited in the tight-ends room.”
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