Pete Carroll's debut season with the Las Vegas Raiders has not started to his liking. At 1-4, the Raiders sit last in the AFC West. That's a far fall from the high expectations Carroll had coming into the year.
There were good reasons for those expectations. Vegas added Ashton Jeanty in the draft. Carroll got his quarterback in Geno Smith. Ironman Brock Bowers looked primed for a solid sophomore season, and on the defensive side, Maxx Crosby is a perennial Pro Bowler.
Looking at the results, though, Carroll is having trouble dealing with those missed expectations, revealing during his press conference after a Week 5, touchdown-free loss (40-6 to the Colts) that he's not exactly pleased.
"I'm processing it poorly, to tell you the truth," Carroll said, with a bit of a laugh. "Because I did expect to win right out of the chutes."
Uncharted territory for Carroll
Carroll has, overall, typically done well in the early going with teams he's taken over. At the professional level, not putting it together out of the gate is certainly new for him.
Pete Carroll’s record in first five games with new NFL teams
However, this isn't entirely new territory for the 74-year-old coach. In his first season coaching the USC Trojans, Carroll's team started exactly like the Raiders—a win in their first game of the year, followed by four consecutive losses. In their following seven games to close that year (including the Las Vegas Bowl), the Trojans went an impressive 5-3.
That year, Carroll also started off with high expectations and spoke after the fourth straight loss of how demoralizing it was for him and the team.
Carroll went on to win seven bowl games (nine appearances) with the Trojans, going 97-19 during his nine years with the program.
A different team and different level of football, but Carroll has faced the reality of a 1-4 start and come out the other side alright before.
Up-and-down starts could keep Raiders AFC West hopes alive
Expanding on his processing of the struggles, Carroll gave some optimism in his answer for what's ahead.
"What I'm seeing and what I'm feeling is, I know by the way we're working—because I've watched a lot of teams work and develop, you know, your system, your belief in it, and knowing who you can count on and who you can trust and all of that—that is ongoing. It feels like we're going in a good direction in that sense, it just didn't, it's just not showing up here."
Beyond introspection, a quick glance out at the rest of the division could give some reason for hope as well. No one in the division has gotten off to a perfect start, with even the once 3-0 Chargers now with two losses on their record. Both the Chiefs and Broncos also probably thought they'd be in better shape at this point, leaving the Raiders just two games back from everyone in the division.
The Titans at home are up next for the Raiders before they travel to Kansas City in Week 7 to face the Chiefs.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Pete Carroll Makes Honest Admission Over His Dealing With Worst Career Coaching Start.
