Pete Carroll could be set for a stunning reunion with Russell Wilson in Las Vegas after becoming Raiders head coach, according to reports.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter revealed on Friday that Carroll, 73, has secured a return to coaching with the Raiders one year after his iconic spell in Seattle came to an end.
The Seahawks legend, who guided them to Super Bowl glory in 2014, took on an advisory role after agreeing to step down as their head coach in January of last year, but will now leave Lumen Field for good to take charge of Las Vegas.
Tom Brady and his fellow Raiders owners have reportedly hired Carroll on a three-year deal with option of a fourth season, making him the oldest head coach in the NFL at 73.
And as he prepares to begin work at Allegiant Stadium, talk has already turned to his potential quarterback options after the team went 4-13 while rotating between Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell in 2024.
According to The Athletic’s Jeff Howe, a reunion with Wilson could be on the cards if the Raiders move on from Minshew as expected.
Pete Carroll (left) could be set for a stunning reunion with Russell Wilson (right) in Las Vegas
Carroll, a Super Bowl winner with the Seahawks, is back in the NFL with Las Vegas Raiders
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The 36-year-old, who is headed for free agency with his one-year Pittsburgh Steelers deal now up, led Seattle to the only Super Bowl in its history under Carroll back in 2013.
They also reached the Super Bowl together again the following year, only to suffer defeat against Brady and the New England Patriots.
Since leaving the Seahawks in 2022, Wilson has failed to reach the same heights after a disastrous move to the Denver Broncos – considered by many as the worst trade in NFL history.
After initially enduring the worst season of his career under Nathaniel Hackett, in which he went 4-11, he bounced back under Sean Payton last season.
Yet in the end that resurgence still wasn’t good enough as the Broncos fell 7-8, with Payton eventually benching him for their final two games.
To make matters worse for the Broncos, they had given Wilson a five-year, $250million contract extension before he had played a single down in Denver six months after his move from Seattle.
The divorce was a costly one for Denver, who still owe him his $39m salary for 2024 minus whatever he signed for with another team – which turned out to be the veteran’s minimum salary of $1.21 million with the Steelers.
They will also take a record $89m hit in ᴅᴇᴀᴅ cap charges across the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
With Pete Carroll taking over the Raiders, one name I’ve heard to watch at QB: Russell Wilson. They’ve mended fences, per source, and Wilson could be a stopgap while the Raiders develop a long-term answer.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) January 24, 2025
Reports state he could move for Wilson, the quarterback he won the Super Bowl with in 2013
The 36-year-old is out of contract after spending one season with the Pittsburgh Steelers
After heading to Pittsburgh, Wilson impressed on a number of occasions while going 6-5 in 11 starts, before suffering a Wild Card round defeat to the Baltimore Ravens.
And while a potential reunion with Carroll at the Raiders is now being mooted, earlier this week the nine-time Pro Bowl selection revealed he is currently in contract talks with the Steelers.
‘Yes, we have been starting to talk a little bit,’ he said on ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show about his future in Pittsburgh. ‘We’ve had our meetings and everything else, just getting into it.
‘So I think that it’s an exciting time to be a Pittsburgh Steeler and the opportunity of what we can do.’
