The Raiders lost to the Chargers in disappointing fashion on Monday Night Football, falling 20-9 in Pete Carroll and Geno Smith's first appearances in front of the home crowd. But the play of Las Vegas wasn't the only talking point on Monday night.
At one point during the contest the ESPN broadcast showed Tom Brady, a minority owner of the Raiders, sitting in the coach's box with a headset on and a tablet in front of him. It sparked quite a discussion about Brady's true role with the organization and the potential conflict with the information he gathers as a Fox broadcaster when preparing to call games. It also led to an intriguing report from the ESPN broadcast; Peter Schrager said offensive coordinator Chip Kelly told him he meets with Brady "two to three times a week" to go through film and the game plan.
That, of course, is not what owners typically do. It also comes across as an aggressive conflict of interest with his role as a broadcaster. Carroll was asked about what Kelly reportedly told Schrager after the game and said it was not accurate while going deeper on Brady's involvement at large.
"That's not accurate," Carroll said of the report. "That's not accurate. We have conversations. I talk to Tom, Chip talks to Tom, regularly. We have a tremendous asset. We all get along, we respect each other, we just talk about life and football a little bit and whatever it becomes. He has great insight. We're lucky to have him as an owner."
Here is @Raiders coach Pete Carroll when I asked him about Tom Brady's involvement in game planning. Thanks to @JourdanRodrigue for the video https://t.co/igFRp52te5 pic.twitter.com/IJrYlUttN1
— Vincent Bonsignore (@VinnyBonsignore) September 16, 2025
Brady joined Mark Davis's ownership group in Las Vegas ahead of the 2024 season, which was also his first year as an NFL broadcaster. He was not allowed to participate in production meetings given his role as a minority owner of the Raiders that first year, but ahead of the 2025 season, the NFL reportedly relaxed those restrictions.
As long as Brady posts up in the coaching booth with a headset on, though, it'll be hard to shake the perception that he is deeply involved in the football side of things in Las Vegas. Which means there will be a constant stream of questions about whether he gets an unfair competitive advantage from his broadcasting job. This feels unlikely to be the last time Carroll has to address the situation in a press conference.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Pete Carroll Responds to Report Tom Brady Meets With Raiders Weekly to Discuss Game Plan.
