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The Raiders entered 2025 selling belief. Tom Brady's arrival as a minority owner was framed as a turning point, a chance to inject discipline, credibility, and football intelligence into a franchise that has long struggled to find stability. What followed instead was another painful season that looked far too familiar.
Las Vegas finished 3-14, with nine losses by double digits and a roster that never seemed to understand what it was trying to be. Five of those defeats came against teams with losing records. The promise of a reset faded quickly, replaced by confusion and frustration that followed the team from training camp to December.
There was an unavoidable irony in Brady's fall. As a FOX analyst, he was assigned to call multiple Chicago Bears games, watching Ben Johnson, the coach he wanted in Las Vegas, transform Chicago into a contender. On air, Brady praised Johnson's accountability and attention to detail. In Las Vegas, those traits never fully took root.
A Raiders season defined by mixed signals
From the outside, the Raiders looked caught between timelines. Pete Carroll was hired to win quickly, while general manager John Spytek spoke publicly about drafting and developing for the long term. Around the league, executives noticed the disconnect early, and the roster decisions only reinforced it.
The trade for Geno Smith and his two-year extension suggested urgency. Drafting a running back with a top-six pick and signing multiple veteran free agents did the same. Yet the team lacked the depth and cohesion to support those moves. Smith was sacked 55 times, threw a league-high 17 interceptions, and finished near the bottom in QBR. The run game ranked last in the NFL, producing the fewest rushing yards by any team in 25 years, according to ESPN data.
Brady's influence was real, even if informal. League sources told ESPN and The Athletic that he was involved in coaching hires, quarterback pursuits, and major personnel conversations. He advocated for Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator, supported the pursuit of Matthew Stafford, and was consulted on the Geno Smith trade. None of it worked.
Kelly's offense never landed. Players struggled with installs, communication broke down, and the unit collapsed statistically. By midseason, Kelly was fired, marking the third straight year the Raiders dismissed an offensive coordinator before the season ended.
The dysfunction extended beyond schemes. Offensive linemen shuffled positions weekly. Coaches and front office appeared out of sync. Players quietly questioned leadership, and by the time Pete Carroll admitted the team needed a rebuild, the season was already lost.
Even team cornerstone Maxx Crosby felt the strain. After years of carrying the locker room through coaching changes, he was placed on injured reserve late in the season against his wishes, a move that frustrated teammates and fueled league-wide trade speculation.
Brady was meant to bring clarity. Instead, 2025 showed how deep the Raiders' problems run. Influence without alignment only magnified them. Until Las Vegas commits to a single direction and follows it with patience, the results will keep looking the same, no matter who is in the ownership group.