Pete Carroll wasn't expected to continue coaching after being pushed to resign from the Seattle Seahawks after last season. At 73, he wasn't considered one of the top candidates to watch in this year's coaching cycle.
However, the Las Vegas Raiders surprised many when they decided to hire him. Once he coaches his first game of the 2025 regular season, he will be the oldest head coach in NFL history.
Carroll's accolades speak for themselves. He's a Super Bowl Champion and was named as one of the coaches on the NFL's 2010s All-Decade Team. Despite that, his age has been a major talking point since being hired by Las Vegas.
Rob Gronkowski spent his entire career playing for older head coaches like Bill Belichick and Bruce Arians. In an interview with Athlon, he was asked if the age concerns surrounding Carroll were overblown.
"For Pete Carroll, he's been in the game long enough to understand situations, to understand these millennials, to understand veteran players, to understand how to get the job done," Gronkowski told Athlon. "I don't think Pete Carroll's a reach with his age. I think he could coach another 10 more years. Keep him young, too, especially if he's doing what he loves to do. ... I think he still has it and can still put together a team and coach a team with a lot of the knowledge that he's gained over the last two decades of being a coach."
It remains to be seen how long Carroll will be able to coach the Raiders but it's easy to see him have success quickly based on his track record.
