Geno Smith is a Las Vegas Raider. Signed and sealed after the Raiders acquired him from the Seattle Seahawks for a 2025 third-round pick. It’s a reunion for Smith and Raiders head coach Pete Carroll, who helped resurrect and shape Smith’s career in the five years they spent together in Seattle.
But Smith’s sixth with the Seahawks last season didn’t go smoothly.
How Pete Carroll Helped Steady Geno Smith Through Stormy 2024
Before Smith reunited with Carroll in Las Vegas, the former Seahawks coach was already guiding him through one of the most challenging seasons of his career. Frustrated by a shifting depth chart and uncertain future in Seattle, Smith leaned on the man who once believed in him most — calling Carroll for advice, clarity, and support even after their official coach-player relationship had ended.
“I would call him whenever I got frustrated,” Smith tells SI’s Albert Breer. “He talked me through things, and he still coached me. And I think that’s what makes him such a special man, is that he was coaching me even when he wasn’t my head coach.”
Before the season started, Seattle management sat down with Smith and made it clear to him that the team would be leaning into its youth movement, which was enabled by the massive Russell Wilson trade. Smith told Sports Illustrated he saw the handwriting on the wall and reached out to Carroll for counsel.
“A lot of the things that he was telling me, a lot of conversations we had really kept me steady throughout the season, and kept my head on straight. Because, again, man, this is a team that I gave everything I had to … Coach Carroll, man, is a special guy and a special coach.”
“It was very frustrating last year, because as a team, we set goals for ourselves, and we didn’t achieve those goals,” he says.
Smith still had a solid season in 2024, but working in a new offense with a different coaching staff was challenging. He threw for 4,320 yards and 21 touchdowns, but his interceptions rose from nine in 2023 to 15 in 2024, factoring into his missing out on a third state Pro Bowl appearance. The Seahawks finished 10-7 and missed the playoffs. Smith took his and the team’s performance hard and blamed himself.
“And being a part of the team, being a quarterback, I take that right on my shoulders. And I feel like that’s my responsibility to make sure that stuff happens. And we weren’t able to reach our goals, weren’t able to get to the playoffs.”
“That’s the ultimate goal, to give yourself a chance to go out there and win a championship. And that’s what frustrated me the most. And then, obviously, not having real security there, not feeling like you’re really a part of the future plans. There’s a lot to think about.”
Now, Smith is positioned to right his and the Raiders’ ship. He’s in a place where he’s wanted, with a head coach who specifically wanted him to be “the man,” and he has the full backing of the Las Vegas organization. If there’s any place where he can get his mojo back, it’s with the Raiders.
it’ll be more frustrating to be a Raider this year than it was to be a seahawk last year.