Tom Brady's Side Role with the Raiders: A Chaotic Situation

Tom Brady dedicated over two decades to a singular objective: establishing himself as the most accomplished QB in NFL history. He achieved that goal. Today, in retirement, Brady has explored various endeavors. He serves as a commentator for Fox. He's involved in development ventures in Birmingham. He has endorsed cryptocurrency. He's expanding American football to the Middle East. He maintains a popular YouTube channel. He even cloned his dog. Brady's post-career ventures appear either diverse or aimless, depending on your perspective.

Secondary ventures are understandable. But managing a NFL team is hardly a casual commitment. In addition to his various responsibilities, Brady also serves as the de facto football leader for the Raiders, presently the most hapless team in the NFL.

The Raiders dropped to 2–9 on Sunday after suffering a decisive loss to the Browns. The Raiders didn't just lose; they were humiliated by a underperforming team with a QB making his professional debut. The Raiders' offensive unit averaged less than three yards per play before meaningless plays in the final period. Geno Smith was sacked 10 times and faced pressure 46 times, a season record for any team this year. On the defensive side, Las Vegas allowed significant gains to a Cleveland offense that has been ineffective for most of the campaign. Any way you slice it, it was a thorough domination. At least Brady didn't have to witness it. The architect of this latest Vegas mess was sitting in Dallas on the Fox broadcast for Eagles-Cowboys.

A Series of Questionable Decisions

To be fair to Brady, he has only spent one season guiding the team's football decisions, after becoming a partial stakeholder of the franchise in 2024. But he was responsible for every major decision last offseason, and each one has proven unsuccessful. Those moves have resulted in the Raiders as the most unwatchable and aimless franchise in the league.

This wasn't supposed to be a lengthy reconstruction. The Raiders didn't appoint 74-year-old Pete Carroll, one of only three coaches to win both a Super Bowl and a NCAA title, to oversee a protracted process back up the standings. He was supposed to restore the team to competitiveness and then hand them off with a stable base in place. Instead, Carroll is facing the possibility of being fired after one season in Vegas, and the Raiders are looking at another restart.

Organizational Dysfunction

This isn't all Brady's fault, naturally. The majority owner is still the controlling stakeholder. Davis has churned through coaches and front-office heads at a speed that would make even the New York Jets feel embarrassed. The Raiders are on their seventh coach and fifth GM in 15 years, a turnover rate that has eliminated any coherent long-term vision. Nevertheless, it's Brady's fingerprints that are evident throughout this version of the Raiders. "This is the Tom Brady show," league reporter Tom Pelissero commented last offseason. "He's been integrally involved," Carroll said of Brady at his introductory news conference in January. "This is his opportunity to leave his mark on a franchise."

Brady made the key hires and set the Raiders on this directionless path. He appointed John Spytek, his former teammate and colleague in Tampa, to act as general manager. He approved a team strategy to the coach's specifications, including trading a third-round pick for Geno Smith and drafting a running back No 6 overall despite having a bottom-tier O-line. He recruited Chip Kelly away from the NCAA, making him the top-earning offensive coordinator in the league. And he signed off on handing a flaky blocking unit – the bedrock for that coordinator and ball carrier – to Carroll's son.

Catastrophic Outcomes

It has become a complete failure. The previous year's Raiders were a four-win team, but they were scrappy and resilient. This year's Raiders are a disorganized situation. Carroll has installed an outdated defensive philosophy, Smith looks past his prime and the Raiders' offensive line has undermined any aspirations for their rookie and the ground attack. At the very least, Carroll was supposed to bring energy. But the Raiders were lifeless on Sunday, waiting for the plays to the end of the game.

The contrast with Cleveland was stark. The situation often seems dire with the Browns, but there are embers of hope. Their star defender, now just five quarterback takedowns away from the league all-time mark, leads a dominant defensive unit. And there is positive outlook around the stellar-looking first-year players that includes multiple promising talents – Quinshon Judkins at RB and a skilled defender at linebacker. There is also Shedeur Sanders, who may not be The Answer at quarterback, but who is An Answer in the immediate future.

Granted, it was against the Raiders' defensive unit, but Sanders showed that the NFL level was not overwhelming for him. With a complete preparation period to prepare, he was solid, 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 Vision

The rookie quarterback and his classmates of the Browns' first-year players symbolize promise. That's a reflection the Raiders should avoid. Good organizations understand their situation in the ecosystem: you're either a contender, a competitive squad, or rebuilding. Vegas entered 2025 thinking they were a couple of moves away from respectability. Despite the overwhelming evidence otherwise, they haven't pivoted during the season. Like Cleveland, Vegas should be throwing out rookies 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 disagreement between the coaching staff and the front office regarding the lack of action for two rookie offensive linemen, despite the offensive line being a weak point. Rookie receivers two young talents have totaled nine receptions in 11 games, despite the ineffectiveness in the passing game. Carroll continues to roll out grizzled vets on defense over rookies in need of reps.

Unclear Future

What is the path forward? Will Carroll be back or Spytek or Smith? And who truly decides those choices, Brady or Davis? How can a team function when its most powerful decision-maker participates sporadically, signs off franchise-altering moves, and then vanishes on side quests?

It's going to be a struggle for the Raiders to get better – and they are in a division stacked with perennial playoff contenders. Meanwhile, other reconstructing teams have clear trajectories. The New York Jets are loaded with upcoming selections. The Titans and Giants have promising young quarterbacks. The Raiders have nothing. No core. No quarterback. No identity. No strategic vision.

The only thing more dangerous than being bad in the NFL is not recognizing 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 ruthless focus. The Raiders could use more than an hour of it.