🔗 Share this article

Tom Brady dedicated 23 NFL seasons to a unwavering mission: establishing himself as the greatest quarterback in NFL history. He accomplished that goal. Today, in his post-playing career, Brady has explored numerous endeavors. He works as a commentator for a major network. He's involved in development ventures in the UK. 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 unfocused, depending on your perspective.

Secondary ventures are one thing. But overseeing a NFL team is not a part-time job. Alongside his various responsibilities, Brady functions as the unofficial football leader for the Raiders, currently the least successful team in the NFL.

The Raiders fell to 2–9 on this past weekend after enduring a 24-10 defeat to the Cleveland Browns. The Raiders didn't just get defeated; they were embarrassed by a underperforming team with a quarterback making his professional debut. The Raiders' offensive unit averaged less than three yards per play before garbage-time action in the fourth quarter. Their quarterback was sacked 10 times and was pressured 46 times, a season record for any team this season. On defense, Las Vegas allowed big plays to a Cleveland offensive unit that has been ineffective for the majority of the season. However you analyze it, it was a comprehensive beatdown. At least Brady didn't have to witness it. The primary decision-maker of this current situation was working in Dallas on the Fox broadcast for another game.

A Series of Questionable Decisions

To be fair to Brady, he has only spent one season leading the team's football decisions, becoming a minority owner of the organization in 2024. But he was responsible for every major decision last summer, and all of them has backfired. Those decisions have left the Raiders as the least entertaining and aimless team in the NFL.

This wasn't expected to be a multi-year rebuild. The Raiders didn't appoint veteran coach Pete Carroll, one of only three coaches to win both a championship and a college national championship, to oversee a long slog back up the league table. He was expected to restore the team to relevance and then hand them off with a solid foundation in place. Conversely, Carroll is staring at the prospect of being fired after one season in Vegas, and the Raiders are looking at another restart.

Franchise Dysfunction

This isn't all Brady's fault, of course. Mark Davis 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 GM in 15 years, a turnover rate that has erased any clear strategic direction. Still, it's Brady's fingerprints that are all over this iteration of the Raiders. "This is the Tom Brady show," NFL Insider a prominent journalist commented last offseason. "He's been integrally involved," Carroll said of Brady at his first press conference in January. "This is his opportunity to leave his mark on a franchise."

Brady was responsible for the crucial appointments and placed the Raiders on this rudderless course. He hired John Spytek, his former teammate and co-worker in Tampa, to serve as GM. He approved a team strategy to Carroll's preference, including trading a draft selection for Smith and drafting a running back No 6 overall despite having a poor-performing O-line. He recruited an offensive innovator away from the college ranks, making him the top-earning offensive coordinator in the NFL. And he approved entrusting a flaky offensive line – the bedrock for that coordinator and ball carrier – to the coach's family member.

Disastrous Outcomes

It's been a complete failure. Last season's Raiders were a team with limited success, but they were scrappy and resilient. The current Raiders are a disorganized situation. Carroll has implemented an old-fashioned defensive philosophy, the quarterback looks past his prime and the Raiders' blocking unit has submarined any hopes for Ashton Jeanty and the ground attack. At the very least, Carroll was expected to bring enthusiasm. But the Raiders were uninspired on Sunday, counting down the snaps to the conclusion of the game.

The contrast with Cleveland was stark. Things are always bleak with the Browns, but there are glimmers of optimism. Myles Garrett, now just five quarterback takedowns away from the league single-season record, leads a formidable defense. And there is optimism around the stellar-looking rookie class that includes multiple promising talents – Quinshon Judkins at RB and Carson Schwesinger at LB. There is also the rookie QB, who may not be The Answer at QB, but who is An Answer in the immediate future.

Granted, it was facing the Raiders' defensive unit, but Sanders demonstrated that the NFL level was not overwhelming for him. With a complete preparation period to get ready, he was effective, taking what the defense gave him and displaying flashes of improvisation. Sanders became the first Browns rookie quarterback to win his first start since 1995.

Absence of Vision

Sanders and the rest of the Browns' first-year players symbolize promise. That's a mirror the Raiders don't want to look into. Successful franchises understand their position in the ecosystem: you're either a championship candidate, a competitive squad, or rebuilding. Vegas began the season thinking they were a couple of moves away from respectability. Despite the clear indications otherwise, 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 coming years. But only two first-year players have seen significant action. There has apparently already been tension between the coaches and the front office regarding the limited playing time for two rookie offensive linemen, despite the offensive line being a weak point. First-year pass catchers Jack Bech and Dont'e Thornton Jr have combined for nine catches in 11 games, despite the lack of spark in the passing game. Carroll continues to utilize experienced veterans on the defensive side over rookies in need of experience.

Uncertain Future

Where is the future direction? Will the coach return or the GM or the quarterback? And who actually makes those choices, Brady or Davis? How can a team operate when its most powerful decision-maker participates sporadically, approves franchise-altering moves, and then disappears on other projects?

It will prove a challenge for the Raiders to improve – and they are in a conference filled with consistently successful teams. Meanwhile, other reconstructing teams have clear trajectories. The Jets are loaded with upcoming selections. The Titans and Giants have talented young QBs. The Raiders have nothing. No core. No franchise QB. No identity. No plan.

The only thing more dangerous than being bad in the NFL is not knowing you're bad. The Raiders lack clarity on where they are, what they are building, or who will make decisions in the summer.

Tom Brady once mastered football through ruthless focus. The Raiders could use more than limited attention of it.