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Tom Brady dedicated 23 NFL seasons to a unwavering objective: becoming the greatest quarterback in league history. He accomplished that goal. Today, in retirement, Brady has explored numerous pursuits. He serves as a broadcaster for Fox. He's involved in construction projects in the UK. He has promoted digital assets. He's expanding American football to the Middle East. He operates a popular YouTube channel. He even cloned his family pet. Brady's retirement activities appear either diverse or unfocused, depending on your perspective.

Secondary ventures are understandable. But managing a professional franchise is not a part-time job. Alongside his other roles, Brady also serves as the de facto football leader for the Las Vegas franchise, currently the least successful team in the league.

The Raiders dropped to 2–9 on Sunday after suffering a decisive loss to the Browns. The Raiders didn't just get defeated; they were embarrassed by a struggling team with a quarterback making his first NFL start. The Raiders' offense averaged less than three yards per play before garbage-time plays in the final period. Their quarterback was sacked 10 times and faced pressure 46 times, a season record for any team this season. On defense, Las Vegas surrendered significant gains to a Cleveland offensive unit that has been dysfunctional for most of the campaign. Any way you slice it, it was a comprehensive beatdown. Fortunately Brady didn't have to witness it. The primary decision-maker of this current situation was working in Dallas on the network coverage for Eagles-Cowboys.

A Collection of Questionable Decisions

To be fair to Brady, he has only spent one season leading the team's personnel choices, after becoming a minority owner of the organization in 2024. But he was accountable for every significant move last summer, and each one has backfired. Those decisions have left the Raiders as the least entertaining and aimless franchise in the NFL.

This wasn't supposed to be a lengthy reconstruction. The Raiders didn't appoint veteran coach Pete Carroll, one of only three coaches to win both a Super Bowl and a NCAA title, to manage a long slog back up the standings. He was supposed to return the team to competitiveness and then transition them with a solid foundation in place. Conversely, Carroll is staring at the prospect of being fired after one season in Vegas, and the Raiders are looking at another restart.

Organizational Turmoil

This is not all Brady's fault, of course. Mark Davis is still the majority owner. Davis has churned through coaches and front-office heads at a rate that would make even the Jets feel embarrassed. The Raiders are on their seventh head coach and fifth GM in 15 years, a turnover rate that has erased any clear strategic direction. Still, it's Brady's fingerprints that are all over this version of the Raiders. "This is the Tom Brady show," league reporter Tom Pelissero said last summer. "He's been integrally involved," Carroll said of Brady at his first press conference in January. "This is his opportunity to put his stamp on a team."

Brady was responsible for the crucial appointments and placed the Raiders on this rudderless course. He hired a close associate, his college buddy and colleague in Tampa, to serve as general manager. He greenlit a team strategy to the coach's specifications, including dealing a third-round pick for Geno Smith and selecting a RB with the sixth pick despite having a poor-performing O-line. He recruited Chip Kelly away from the NCAA, making him the top-earning OC in the league. And he signed off on entrusting a unreliable offensive line – the bedrock for that coordinator and running back – to the coach's family member.

Catastrophic Outcomes

It's been a disaster. The previous year's Raiders were a team with limited success, but they were competitive and competitive. The current Raiders are a confused mess. Carroll has implemented an outdated defensive scheme, Smith looks past his prime and the Raiders' offensive line has submarined any hopes for their rookie and the ground attack. At the very least, Carroll was expected to bring energy. But the Raiders were lifeless on Sunday, waiting for the plays to the conclusion of the game.

The difference with Cleveland was stark. The situation often seems dire with the Browns, but there are embers of hope. Their star defender, now just five quarterback takedowns away from the league single-season record, leads a formidable defense. And there is optimism around the impressive first-year players that includes multiple promising talents – Quinshon Judkins at RB and a skilled defender at linebacker. There is also the rookie QB, who may not be The Answer at QB, but who is a viable option in the immediate future.

Admittedly, it was facing the Raiders' defensive unit, but Sanders showed that the NFL level was not overwhelming for him. With a full week to get ready, he was effective, taking what the defense gave him and displaying glimpses of creativity. Sanders became the first Browns rookie quarterback to win his debut game since 1995.

Absence of Vision

The rookie quarterback and his classmates of the Browns' first-year players symbolize promise. That's a reflection the Raiders don't want to look into. Good organizations understand their position in the league hierarchy: you're either a contender, a frisky playoff team, or undergoing reconstruction. Vegas began the season thinking they were a couple of moves away from respectability. In spite of the clear indications otherwise, they haven't pivoted during the season. Like Cleveland, Vegas should be throwing out rookies to discover what they have for the coming years. But only two first-year players have seen real playing time. There has reportedly already been tension between the coaching staff and the management regarding the limited playing time for two young blockers, despite the offensive line being a sieve. First-year pass catchers two young talents have totaled nine catches in eleven contests, despite the lack of spark in the aerial attack. Carroll continues to utilize grizzled vets on defense over young players in need of reps.

Unclear Direction

What is the future direction? Will the coach return or the GM or the quarterback? And who truly decides those decisions, Brady or Davis? How can a franchise function when its primary influencer participates sporadically, approves franchise-altering moves, and then vanishes on other projects?

It will prove a challenge for the Raiders to get better – and they are in a conference stacked with consistently successful teams. Meanwhile, other reconstructing teams have paths. The Jets are stocked with future draft picks. The Titans and Giants have talented young QBs. The Raiders have little to build upon. No foundation. No franchise QB. No identity. No strategic vision.

The single factor more dangerous than being bad in the NFL is not recognizing you're underperforming. The Raiders don't know where they are, what they are developing, or who will call the shots in the summer.

Tom Brady once mastered football through ruthless focus. The Raiders could use more than an hour of it.