Pete Carroll reveals what went wrong with Raiders for new Jets QB Geno Smith

After a long-winded search, the New York Jets have their starting quarterback for 2026. Geno Smith is coming home for another romp with the Jets.

The acquisition was met with some skepticism. After all, Smith is coming off one of the worst seasons of his career with the Las Vegas Raiders, tossing 3,025 yards, only 19 touchdowns, and leading the league with 17 interceptions.

Despite his 2025 struggles in Las Vegas, former Raiders head coach Pete Carroll believes Smith still has a lot left in the tank, and he told ESPN's Rich Cimini in an exclusive interview that his coaching staff "didn't do well enough" to give the former Jets draft pick a chance to play well last season.

Carroll, who coached Smith for five seasons, four with the Seattle Seahawks and one with the Raiders. expects him to rebound big time in 2026.

Pete Carroll says Raiders didn't give Jets' Geno Smith enough in 2025

When the Raiders hired Carroll to be their head coach in 2025, one of the first moves he made was to ship a third-round pick to the Seahawks for Smith. He wanted his old quarterback.

Just about everything in Las Vegas was a disaster last season. Smith struggled, the offensive line was subpar, and the Raiders traded away their best wide receiver at the deadline. It would've been difficult for any quarterback to succeed.

"We should've had him better prepared for the things that happened, and that wouldn't have happened. I take a lot of responsibility in that. We didn't prepare him well enough in the offseason even though he looked great and we felt we had everything lined up. It was very, very disappointing for us both."

Pete Carroll

The Raiders' offensive coordinator, former NFL head coach Chip Kelly, was given his first shot in the NFL since 2016. His offense was dreadful, and he ended up getting fired after just 11 games. Las Vegas finished dead last in offensive efficiency according to Sumer Sports' EPA/play.

It also didn't help that Smith was running for his life almost every play. He was tied with Cam Ward for the most sacked quarterback in the NFL last season, being brought down a grand total of 55 times.

"We got killed, we got killed. Our offensive guys up front, from the last couple of years, we got murdered. We needed to upgrade that more than we did. It didn't happen in the draft, and it didn't happen in the offseason. We didn't go for it in the offseason. We needed to buy a new line to give the guys a chance to at least be more competitive."

Pete Carroll

One thing's for sure, Smith is stepping into a way better situation in New York than he had in Las Vegas. Say what you want about Frank Reich, but he's certainly a better offensive coordinator than Kelly.

Garrett Wilson is better than any wide receiver Smith was throwing to in Las Vegas, and the offensive line is leagues better than what the Raiders have, despite recently bringing in a Raiders guard.

The Jets believe in Smith and think he'll at least be able to give them league-average quarterback play. Hopefully, he can turn back the clock and play as he did in Seattle from 2022 to 2024.