New Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll has admitted Tom Brady signing on as a minority owner completely changed his outlook of the franchise.
Carroll had sworn off coaching after stepping down last year from the Seattle Seahawks helm. The 73-year-old spent last season as a senior advisor to the team.
Yet, working alongside Brady when the Raiders showed interest in getting the Super Bowl winner back into coaching was more than enough to sway Carroll.
‘When Tom came on board here, it changed my outlook on coming here,’ Carroll said on the ‘Brock & Salk Show’. ‘I thought that would be one of the great opportunities of all time, to have his presence. His presence is strong.
‘[General manager] John Spytek and him go back a ton of years and Johnny holds him in the highest regard. So we’re trying to infuse Tom’s mentality, we’re trying to bring it into the organization, because it’s so good and so unique and so one of a kind, I think it helps us to be a one-of-a-kind franchise.’
Brady and Carroll were on opposite sidelines for one of the most memorable Super Bowls of all-time in 2015 between the New England Patriots and Seahawks, featuring the now-infamous Malcolm Butler interception.
Pete Carroll admitted Tom Brady signing on as a minority owner changed his outlook
Carroll had sworn off coaching after stepping down last year from the Seattle Seahawks helm
Carroll also shed light on Brady’s role with the organization and how much the two are in contact, saying it is, ‘pretty regular’ between the two.
‘We’re phone buddies,’ Carroll said of Brady. ‘He hasn’t been out here but one time since we’ve been here, but we’ve talked a ton of times.’
‘And talking philosophy with Tom, you can imagine what a thrill it is because he’s the all-time competitor. It’s not just how he played, it’s how he lived, and how he sees the world, and how he attacks every opportunity he has.’
‘We’re so eye to eye on that, it’s been a blast. It’s really been fun. The challenge of it is to bring that mentality and connect it to our entire franchise.’
Carroll has a tough job ahead of him in the AFC West, where every other team made the postseason a year ago but his new squad.
The 73-year-old may have a not-so-secret weapon in Brady, who knows a thing or two about getting the most from a relationship with an aging coach.
