🔗 Share this article

Tom Brady dedicated 23 NFL seasons to a singular mission: establishing himself as the greatest quarterback in league history. He achieved that dream. Today, in his post-playing career, Brady has ventured into various endeavors. He works as a commentator for a major network. He's engaged in development ventures in the UK. He has promoted cryptocurrency. He's spreading American football to Saudi Arabia. He operates a successful YouTube channel. He even cloned his dog. Brady's post-career ventures appear either diverse or unfocused, depending on your viewpoint.

Side projects are one thing. But managing a NFL team is not a part-time job. In addition to his other roles, Brady also serves as the unofficial decision-maker for the Raiders, presently the least successful team in the league.

The Raiders fell to 2–9 on Sunday after suffering a decisive loss to the Browns. The Raiders didn't just lose; they were humiliated by a struggling team with a QB making his first NFL start. The Raiders' offensive unit averaged 2.9 yards per play before garbage-time action in the final period. Their quarterback was sacked 10 times and was pressured 46 times, a single-game high for any franchise this season. On defense, Las Vegas allowed significant gains to a Cleveland offensive unit that has been ineffective for the majority of the season. However you analyze it, it was a thorough domination. Fortunately Brady didn't have to witness it. The primary decision-maker of this latest Vegas mess was sitting in Dallas on the network coverage for Eagles-Cowboys.

A Series of Questionable Decisions

In fairness to Brady, he has only been involved for a year leading the team's personnel choices, becoming a minority owner of the organization in 2024. But he was responsible for every major decision last offseason, and each one has backfired. Those moves have resulted in the Raiders as the least entertaining and directionless team in the NFL.

This wasn't expected to be a multi-year rebuild. The Raiders didn't hire 74-year-old Pete Carroll, among a select group to win both a championship and a college national championship, to oversee a protracted process back up the league table. He was expected to return the team to competitiveness and then hand them off with a solid foundation in place. Instead, Carroll is staring at the possibility of being fired after one season in Vegas, and the Raiders are looking at another reboot.

Franchise Dysfunction

This is not all Brady's fault, of course. The majority owner is still the majority owner. Davis has cycled through head coaches and executives at a rate that would make even the New York Jets blush. The Raiders are on their seventh coach and fifth general manager in 15 years, a instability that has eliminated any coherent long-term vision. Nevertheless, it's Brady's influence that are all over this iteration of the Raiders. "This is the Brady's project," NFL Insider a prominent journalist commented last offseason. "He's been deeply engaged," Carroll said of Brady at his first press conference in January. "This is his chance to put his stamp on a franchise."

Brady made the crucial appointments and set the Raiders on this rudderless course. He hired John Spytek, his college buddy and co-worker in Tampa, to serve as general manager. He approved a team strategy to the coach's specifications, including trading a draft selection for Smith and drafting a RB No 6 overall despite having a poor-performing O-line. He recruited an offensive innovator away from the NCAA, making him the top-earning OC in the NFL. And he signed off on handing a unreliable blocking unit – the bedrock for that coach and running back – to the coach's family member.

Disastrous Results

It's been a complete failure. Last season's Raiders were a team with limited success, but they were scrappy and resilient. This year's Raiders are a disorganized situation. Carroll has implemented an old-fashioned defensive philosophy, the quarterback looks washed and the Raiders' blocking unit has undermined any aspirations for Ashton Jeanty and the run game. At the very least, Carroll was supposed to bring enthusiasm. But the Raiders were lifeless on Sunday, waiting for the plays to the end of the game.

The difference with Cleveland was stark. The situation often seems dire with the Browns, but there are embers of hope. Their star defender, now just five sacks away from the NFL single-season record, leads a formidable defense. And there is optimism around the impressive first-year players that includes multiple promising talents – a dynamic runner at RB and a skilled defender at LB. There is also the rookie QB, who may not be the permanent solution at quarterback, but who is An Answer in the short-term.

Granted, it was against the Raiders' defensive unit, but Sanders demonstrated that the stage was not overwhelming for him. With a full week to get ready, he was solid, accepting what the defense gave him and displaying glimpses of creativity. Sanders became the first Browns rookie quarterback to win his first start since 1995.

Absence of Direction

The rookie quarterback and his classmates of the Browns' first-year players symbolize future potential. That's a mirror the Raiders should avoid. Good organizations recognize their position in the ecosystem: you're either a championship candidate, a frisky playoff team, or undergoing reconstruction. Vegas entered 2025 believing they were a couple of moves away from competitiveness. In spite of the clear indications to the contrary, 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 future. But only two first-year players have seen real playing time. There has apparently already been tension between the coaching staff and the management regarding the lack of action for two rookie offensive linemen, despite the o-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 aerial attack. Carroll continues to utilize experienced veterans on defense over young players in need of experience.

Unclear Future

Where is the path forward? Will Carroll be back or Spytek or Smith? And who actually makes those choices, Brady or Davis? How can a team function when its primary influencer logs in occasionally, approves major organizational decisions, and then disappears on side quests?

It's going to be a challenge for the Raiders to get better – and they are in a division stacked with perennial playoff contenders. Meanwhile, other reconstructing teams have paths. The Jets are loaded with upcoming selections. The Tennessee and New York have talented young QBs. The Raiders have nothing. No foundation. No quarterback. No distinctive style. No plan.

The only thing more problematic than being bad in the NFL is not recognizing you're underperforming. The Raiders don't know where they are, what they are developing, or who will make decisions in the summer.

Tom Brady once mastered football through ruthless focus. The Raiders could benefit from more than an hour of it.