Analysis: It’s John Spytek’s time to shine for Raiders

New Raiders head coach Pete Carroll’s star power transcends generations.

Notable veteran and retired players from across the NFL celebrated the 73-year-old Carroll, who’s one of three coaches to ever win both a collegiate national championship and a Super Bowl, when he landed with the Raiders last month.

That came as no surprise given Carroll’s sterling reputation after a 50-plus year career, but it turns out that his aura remains just as strong with the next set of NFL prospects. The vast majority of incoming rookies participating in this week’s NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis weren’t born yet when Carroll took over as Southern Cal's coach in 2001, but they’re apparently aware of the dynasty he helped build there.

New Raiders general manager John Spytek has gotten a kick out of some players’ reaction to coming into the Raiders’ interview room and spotting Carroll.

“We’ve had some young guys walk in last night and be like, ‘This is MF-ing Pete Carroll right here,’” Spytek shared with a smile.

The 44-year-old Spytek, previously a personnel executive with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, might be getting used to being the overlooked sidekick at the top of Raiders organization.

In the pair’s joint introductory news conference, more questions were directed toward Carroll, and a similar trend appeared to play out at their first official NFL event media sessions.

Carroll got a bigger crowd and spoke for longer than Spytek at the combine.

That probably shouldn’t be the case in terms of power and influence, at least not at this time of the year.

Spytek’s decisions over the next couple months will largely dictate the Raiders’ standing and trajectory going into the 2025-2026 season.

The 2025 NFL Draft, scheduled for April 24-26, looms large but so too does the official start of the new league year and free agency on March 12.

Spytek said the start of the Raiders’ plans were beginning to fall into place but he was still, “drinking from the fire hose pretty strong,” to get fully prepared. Carroll has been impressed.

“He doesn’t come across like he’s never done this before,” Carroll said of Spytek. “He comes across like he's been around. He's gets it. He has a mentality, he has an approach and an idea of what he's all about. I'm going to make that come to life. I'm going to try to help him in every way I possibly can to just be fully prepared and ready and balanced when he makes choices.”

The biggest choice remains at quarterback where the Raiders are all but certain to bring in a new starting-caliber player. Getting a young, franchise-type passer on a rookie deal is the dream of most NFL franchises but Spytek said he would not be forced into selecting one in the Draft.

Las Vegas has largely been linked to Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who could be available when it picks at No. 6 overall. But the Raiders could also conceivably trade up to take either Sanders or Miami quarterback Cam Ward, currently the betting favorite to go No. 1 overall.

That wouldn’t fit with Spytek’s history though. For the past decade, he’s been associated with veteran quarterbacks acquired through free agency.

He was with the Denver Broncos when they brought in Peyton Manning ahead of winning Super Bowl 50 in 2016. Four years later, Spytek was regarded as instrumental in wooing former University of Michigan teammate/current Raider minority-owner boss Tom Brady to Tampa Bay.

That earned Spytek another Super Bowl ring, in 2021, before he was promoted to second in command to Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht. The pair then signed Baker Mayfield, who’s seen his career revitalized in Tampa Bay.

History could repeat in Las Vegas considering the Raiders are long reported to have an interest in potential Vikings free-agent quarterback Sam Darnold. They had also been mentioned with Matthew Stafford, who was granted permission to seek a trade from the Los Angeles Rams before coming to agreement to stay in Southern California Friday morning.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that missing out on Stafford has forced the Raiders to “investigate” a pair of veteran quarterback options who spent last season with the Steelers, Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, along with Darnold.

Brady and Stafford either had a planned meeting or crossed paths at a Montana ski resort in recent weeks.

Carroll said he had frequently been in touch with Brady since taking the Raiders’ job but that the former quarterback and Spytek were “very well connected.” There’s little doubt they’ve already had conversations about the likes of Wilson, Fields, Darnold and Sanders.

“I don’t really want to talk about other team’s players and get in trouble in my first press conference here,” Spytek said when asked about Stafford specifically. “But I would just say that if there’s an opportunity for any player that can add value to the Raiders, we’ll look into it.”

Spytek was slightly more forthcoming with his draft philosophy. It sounded like a break from last year’s general manager Tom Telesco, who advocated for a “best player available” approach and then practiced it most notably with the selection of tight end Brock Bowers in the first round.

The pick was unforeseen — Bowers himself said he didn’t know the Raiders had any interest in him — but worked out with the University of Georgia product having one of the best tight end seasons in history and finishing second in Rookie of the Year voting.

Spytek said he was thrilled to benefit by having Bowers on the roster, “for a long time.” But he hinted he will neither blindly take the top-rated player at every draft pick nor panic to overcompensate for a weaker position group.

“We're not going to pass on elite talent because we maybe have a couple guys at that spot, but we're certainly not going to just force picks because we need a player,” he said. “To me, it’s more about team building. What's best for the Raiders? How can we make this work? It's not about just collecting talent, and it's not about just filling a roster out either."

Spytek later added that, “understanding the value of certain positions,” is one of his main tenants in the draft. His draft history working under Licht certainly indicates that he fits with the modern philosophy of primarily paying for “premium positions,” like quarterback and the offensive and defensive lines.

Tampa Bay’s last four top picks have come in the trenches, and five of its last six. The only exception was in 2019 with linebacker Devin White, who became a Pro Bowler.

Spytek’s other Pro Bowl hits high in the draft with the Buccaneers include defensive tackle Vita Vea and offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs.

“I want to try to get as many good people in our building as we can, players, and we've got a long way to go here so I’m not too caught up in that right now,” Spytek said when asked what it means to him to now be running his own team. “It's been a great football journey, and I'm extremely grateful for every step along the way, the good and the bad — I wouldn't say bad but the hard to get me to where I'm at. I'm grateful for it all and just excited for what is ahead here."

Carroll’s presence might mean Spytek gets to fly under the radar for NFL general manager standards, but there’s nothing muted about the decisions he’s now in the process of making.

“When John talks and when I talk, we’re talking the same language,” Carroll said. “It's been a seamless start to this thing. I didn't know that till we started hanging out. The relationship between the head coach and the general manager, to me, is the most important relationship in the NFL.