By ROB MAADDI
The Las Vegas Raiders are negotiating a deal to hire Pete Carroll to be their new head coach, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Friday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract hasn’t been finalized.
The 73-year-old Carroll returns to the sideline after leading Seattle to two NFC championships and the franchise’s only Super Bowl title during a 14-year stretch that ended following the 2023 season.
He joins a team that’s partly owned by Tom Brady, who beat Carroll and the Seahawks in the Super Bowl 10 years ago. Brady watched from the sideline as Malcom Butler picked off Russell Wilson’s pass at the goal line to seal the victory for the New England Patriots.
The Raiders fired coach Antonio Pierce after going 4-13 in his first full season. Pierce was 5-4 as an interim coach in 2023 after replacing Josh McDaniels.
Carroll would become the team’s 14th head coach since Jon Gruden was traded to Tampa Bay in 2002.
Carroll began his NFL head coaching career with the New York Jets in 1994, going 6-10. He was 27-21 in three seasons with the Patriots from 1997-99 and joined Seattle in 2010 after nine seasons at Southern California. He led the 2004 Trojans to a national championship and also the 2003 AP national championship.
Overall, Carroll is 170-120-1 in the NFL.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl