Honestly, the NFL is a weird place. One day you’re the king of Seattle, and the next, you’re standing on a sideline in the desert watching everything you built slide sideways into a 3-14 record. By now, everyone knows the headline: Pete Carroll is officially out in Las Vegas. After just one season with the Raiders, the experiment is over, leaving fans and analysts to pick through the wreckage of a year that promised "Seahawks South" but delivered something much messier.
At the center of that wreckage sits an offensive line that spent most of 2025 in a state of emergency. If you want to understand why things went south so fast, you have to look at the Stone Forsythe situation. It wasn't just a depth move; it was a microcosm of Carroll’s entire approach to roster building—an approach defined by extreme loyalty and a "we can fix him" mentality that finally ran out of road.
The Stone Forsythe Move: Why Carroll Bet Big
When Pete Carroll took the Raiders job in early 2025, he didn't just bring his energy; he brought his address book. He reunited with Geno Smith, signed Jamal Adams, and eventually brought in Stone Forsythe.
Forsythe, a massive 6-foot-8 tackle, was someone Carroll had drafted back in Seattle. He was always a "project" player—the kind of guy with physical tools you can't coach but technique that needed a lot of polish. When the Raiders' offensive line started crumbling early in the 2025 season (losing stars like Kolton Miller and Jackson Powers-Johnson), Carroll didn't look to the trade market or a young developmental piece. He went back to what he knew.
He basically told the media, "We were with him from the beginning, we love the work ethic." That's classic Pete. He saw a 6-foot-8 mountain and remembered the flashes of potential from 2021. He trusted the history more than the recent tape.
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A Season of High Stakes and Low Protection
By October 2025, Stone Forsythe was the starting left tackle for the Las Vegas Raiders. It was a high-stakes gamble. Protecting a 34-year-old Geno Smith isn't easy under the best circumstances, but doing it with a patched-together line is a nightmare.
The results? Kinda brutal.
- Geno Smith led the league in sacks taken for a significant portion of the year.
- The run game, led by rookie Ashton Jeanty, struggled to find consistent lanes, averaging a league-low 77.5 yards per game.
- The Raiders suffered an 11-game losing streak—the longest in the franchise's history.
It wasn't that Forsythe didn't try; the guy is a professional. But being thrust into a starting left tackle role on a struggling team is a lot to ask of a former sixth-round pick who had spent most of his career as a swing tackle.
The Downfall of "Loyalty" Coaching
The firing of Pete Carroll on January 5, 2026, often called "Black Monday," wasn't just about the 3-14 record. It was about the realization that his philosophy might not translate to a new building anymore. In Seattle, Carroll had John Schneider to balance out his optimism. In Vegas, under the influence of minority owner Tom Brady and GM John Spytek, the leash was much shorter.
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People are pointing fingers at the Chip Kelly hire or the Geno Smith trade, but the reliance on guys like Stone Forsythe showed the fundamental flaw: Carroll was trying to recreate his 2022 Seahawks magic instead of building something specifically for the 2025 Raiders.
What Most People Get Wrong About the 2025 Raiders
There’s this idea that the Raiders were just untalented. That’s not quite right. They had Maxx Crosby (before his injury), Brock Bowers, and a dynamic rookie back. The problem was the connective tissue. When you have a head coach who is 74 years old and playing "the hits" by bringing in his former players, the locker room can start to feel more like a retirement home than a rising contender.
- The Geno Factor: Smith threw a league-high 17 interceptions.
- The O-Line Collapse: Replacing a Pro Bowler like Miller with Forsythe is a massive drop-off that no "culture" can fix.
- The "One-and-Done" Reality: This was the first time Carroll was fired after one year since his 1994 stint with the Jets.
Where Does Stone Forsythe Go From Here?
As of early 2026, Stone Forsythe is set to become an Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA). He’s 28 years old and has 26 career starts under his belt. In a league where "big and athletic" is always in demand, he’ll likely find a home as a depth piece or a training camp body for a team looking for tackle insurance.
However, his time as a primary starter for a Pete Carroll led team is almost certainly over. With Carroll likely heading into a permanent advisory role or retirement, the "loyalty era" for these former Seahawks has hit a wall.
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What’s Next for the Raiders?
If you’re a Raiders fan, the next few months are going to be a whirlwind. Mark Davis has already signaled that Tom Brady will have a huge voice in the next hire. Here is what needs to happen to move past the Carroll era:
- Prioritize the Draft: With the #1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Raiders cannot afford to miss. Most experts expect them to target a franchise quarterback to replace the aging Geno Smith.
- Rebuild the Trenches: You can't ask a veteran or a rookie to survive behind the line that Forsythe and others were forced to lead last year. Finding a stable, long-term solution at tackle is priority number one.
- Avoid the "Retread" Trap: The betting favorites like Brian Flores or Klint Kubiak represent a shift toward younger, more modern schemes. The days of relying on "old school" energy are likely done in Vegas.
The story of Stone Forsythe and the Raiders is a reminder that in the NFL, history only gets you so far. You can have the biggest smile and the best resume in the world, but if you can't protect the quarterback, the desert will swallow you whole.
Watch for the Raiders to begin interviewing candidates immediately, as the search for the 13th head coach since their 2003 Super Bowl appearance begins now.