🔗 Share this article

Tom Brady committed over two decades to a singular mission: becoming the most accomplished QB in league history. He accomplished that dream. Now, in retirement, Brady has explored various endeavors. He works as a broadcaster for Fox. He's engaged in construction projects in Birmingham. He has endorsed cryptocurrency. He's expanding American football to the Middle East. He operates a popular YouTube channel. He replicated his dog. Brady's retirement ventures appear either eclectic or aimless, based on your perspective.

Side projects are one thing. But overseeing a NFL team is hardly a part-time job. Alongside his other roles, Brady functions as the unofficial football leader for the Raiders, currently the least successful team in the NFL.

The Raiders dropped to 2–9 on Sunday after suffering a decisive loss to the Cleveland Browns. The Raiders didn't just get defeated; they were humiliated by a struggling team with a quarterback making his professional debut. The Raiders' offensive unit averaged 2.9 yards per play before meaningless action in the final period. Their quarterback was tackled 10 times and faced pressure 46 times, a season record for any franchise this season. On defense, Las Vegas surrendered big plays to a Cleveland offense that has been dysfunctional for the majority of the season. Any way you slice it, it was a comprehensive beatdown. Fortunately Brady didn't have to watch. The primary decision-maker of this current situation was working in Dallas on the network coverage for Eagles-Cowboys.

A Series of Questionable Choices

In fairness to Brady, he has only been involved for a year guiding the team's personnel choices, becoming a minority owner of the organization in 2024. But he was accountable for every significant move last offseason, and each one has proven unsuccessful. Those decisions have left the Raiders as the least entertaining and directionless team in the league.

This wasn't expected to be a lengthy reconstruction. The Raiders didn't appoint veteran coach Pete Carroll, one of only three coaches to win both a Super Bowl and a college national championship, to oversee a long slog back up the standings. He was supposed to restore the team to competitiveness and then transition them with a stable base in place. Instead, Carroll is facing the prospect of being fired after one season in Vegas, and the Raiders are looking at another restart.

Franchise Turmoil

This is not entirely Brady's responsibility, of course. The majority owner is still the majority owner. Davis has churned through head coaches and executives at a rate that would make even the Jets blush. The Raiders are on their seventh coach and fifth general manager in 15 years, a turnover rate that has eliminated any coherent long-term vision. Still, it's Brady's fingerprints that are evident throughout this iteration of the Raiders. "This is the Tom Brady show," NFL Insider a prominent journalist said last summer. "He's been integrally involved," Carroll said of Brady at his first press conference in January. "This is his chance to leave his mark on a franchise."

Brady was responsible for the key hires and placed the Raiders on this rudderless course. He hired John Spytek, his former teammate and co-worker in Tampa, to act as GM. He greenlit a roster plan to the coach's specifications, including dealing a third-round pick for Smith and selecting a running back No 6 overall despite having a poor-performing O-line. He recruited Chip Kelly away from the NCAA, making him the highest-paid OC in the league. And he signed off on handing a flaky offensive line – the bedrock for that coach and running back – to Carroll's son.

Disastrous Results

It's been a disaster. The previous year's Raiders were a four-win team, but they were scrappy and resilient. The current Raiders are a disorganized situation. Carroll has installed an outdated defensive philosophy, the quarterback looks past his prime and the Raiders' blocking unit has submarined any aspirations for Ashton Jeanty and the run game. At the very least, Carroll was supposed to bring energy. But the Raiders were uninspired on Sunday, waiting for the snaps to the conclusion of the game.

The contrast with Cleveland was pronounced. The situation often seems dire with the Browns, but there are glimmers of optimism. Myles Garrett, now just five sacks away from the league single-season record, leads a formidable defense. And there is positive outlook around the impressive first-year players that includes two potential stars – Quinshon Judkins at running back and Carson Schwesinger at LB. There is also the rookie QB, who may not be The Answer at quarterback, but who is An Answer in the immediate future.

Admittedly, it was against the Raiders' defense, 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 defense gave him and displaying flashes of creativity. Sanders became the first Cleveland rookie QB to win his debut game since 1995.

Absence of Direction

The rookie quarterback and his classmates of the Browns' first-year players represent promise. That's a mirror the Raiders should avoid. Good organizations understand their situation in the ecosystem: you're either a championship candidate, a competitive squad, or rebuilding. Vegas began the season thinking they were a few adjustments away from respectability. Despite the clear indications to the contrary, they failed to adjust midstream. Like Cleveland, Vegas should be throwing out rookies to discover what they have for the coming years. But only two first-year players have seen significant action. There has apparently already been disagreement between the coaching staff and the management regarding the limited playing time for two rookie offensive linemen, despite the offensive line being a sieve. First-year pass catchers two young talents have totaled nine receptions in eleven contests, despite the lack of spark in the passing game. Carroll continues to roll out grizzled vets on defense over young players in need of experience.

Unclear Future

What is the path forward? Will the coach return or Spytek or the quarterback? And who truly decides those decisions, Brady or Davis? How can a franchise operate when its most powerful decision-maker logs in occasionally, approves major organizational decisions, and then vanishes on other projects?

It will prove a challenge for the Raiders to get better – and they are in a conference stacked with consistently successful teams. At the same time, other rebuilders have paths. The New York Jets are stocked with future draft picks. The Titans and Giants have promising young quarterbacks. The Raiders have little to build upon. No foundation. No quarterback. No distinctive style. No strategic vision.

The single factor more dangerous than being bad in the NFL is not knowing you're underperforming. The Raiders lack clarity on where they are, what they are developing, or who will make decisions in the offseason.

Tom Brady once mastered football through intense dedication. The Raiders could benefit from more than limited attention of it.