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Tom Brady dedicated over two decades to a singular mission: becoming the most accomplished QB in NFL history. He achieved that dream. Today, in his post-playing career, Brady has ventured into various pursuits. He works as a broadcaster for a major network. He's engaged in construction projects in Birmingham. He has endorsed digital assets. He's spreading the NFL to the Middle East. He operates a successful YouTube channel. He replicated his family pet. Brady's post-career activities appear either eclectic or unfocused, based on your perspective.

Side projects are one thing. But overseeing a professional franchise is not a part-time job. Alongside his other roles, Brady functions as the de facto football leader for the Las Vegas franchise, presently the most hapless team in the league.

The Raiders dropped to 2–9 on this past weekend after enduring a decisive loss to the Cleveland Browns. The Raiders didn't just get defeated; they were humiliated by a underperforming team with a QB making his professional debut. The Raiders' offense averaged 2.9 yards per play before garbage-time action in the final period. Geno Smith was sacked 10 times and was pressured 46 times, a season record for any team this season. On the defensive side, Las Vegas allowed significant gains to a Cleveland offensive unit that has been ineffective for the majority of the season. However you analyze it, it was a comprehensive beatdown. Fortunately Brady didn't have to watch. The primary decision-maker of this current situation was sitting in Dallas on the Fox broadcast for another game.

A Series of Questionable Choices

In fairness to Brady, he has only spent one season leading the team's personnel choices, becoming a minority owner of the organization in 2024. But he was accountable for every major decision last offseason, and all of them has proven unsuccessful. Those moves have resulted in the Raiders as the least entertaining and directionless team in the NFL.

This wasn't expected to be a lengthy reconstruction. The Raiders didn't hire 74-year-old Pete Carroll, one of only three coaches to win both a championship and a college national championship, to manage a protracted process back up the league table. He was expected to restore the team to relevance and then hand them off with a stable base in place. Instead, Carroll is facing the possibility of being one-and-done in Vegas, and the Raiders are looking at another restart.

Franchise Dysfunction

This is not all Brady's fault, naturally. Mark Davis is still the controlling stakeholder. Davis has cycled through coaches and front-office heads at a speed that would make even the New York Jets blush. The Raiders are on their seventh coach and fifth general manager in 15 years, a turnover rate that has eliminated any coherent long-term vision. Nevertheless, it's Brady's influence that are all over this version of the Raiders. "This is the Tom Brady show," NFL Insider a prominent journalist commented last offseason. "He's been integrally involved," Carroll stated of Brady at his first press conference in January. "This is his opportunity to leave his mark on a team."

Brady was responsible for the crucial appointments and set the Raiders on this directionless path. He hired John Spytek, his college buddy and co-worker in Tampa, to act as GM. He approved a team strategy to the coach's specifications, including dealing a third-round pick for Smith and selecting a running back with the sixth pick despite having a bottom-tier O-line. He recruited an offensive innovator away from the NCAA, making him the top-earning offensive coordinator in the NFL. And he approved handing a flaky blocking unit – the bedrock for that coordinator and running back – to the coach's family member.

Catastrophic Outcomes

It's been a complete failure. The previous year's Raiders were a team with limited success, but they were scrappy and resilient. This year's Raiders are a confused mess. Carroll has implemented an outdated defensive scheme, the quarterback looks past his prime and the Raiders' blocking unit has submarined any aspirations for their rookie and the run game. If nothing else, Carroll was expected to bring energy. But the Raiders were uninspired on Sunday, waiting for the snaps to the end of the game.

The contrast with Cleveland was pronounced. 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 stellar-looking first-year players that includes multiple promising talents – Quinshon Judkins at RB and a skilled defender at LB. There is also the rookie QB, who may not be the permanent solution at QB, but who is An Answer in the short-term.

Granted, it was against the Raiders' defensive unit, but Sanders showed that the NFL level was not too big for him. With a complete preparation period to get ready, he was effective, accepting what the defense gave him and showing flashes of improvisation. Sanders became the first Cleveland rookie QB to win his debut game since 1995.

Lack of Vision

The rookie quarterback and his classmates of the Browns' first-year players represent promise. That's a reflection the Raiders should avoid. Good organizations recognize their situation in the league hierarchy: you're either a contender, a competitive squad, or undergoing reconstruction. Vegas began the season thinking they were a couple of moves away from respectability. Despite the overwhelming evidence otherwise, they haven't pivoted during the season. Similar to the Browns, Vegas should be throwing out young players to find out what they have for the future. But only two rookies have seen significant action. There has apparently already been tension between the coaches and the management regarding the lack of action for two rookie offensive linemen, despite the offensive line being a sieve. First-year pass catchers Jack Bech and Dont'e Thornton Jr have combined for nine receptions in eleven contests, despite the ineffectiveness in the aerial attack. Carroll continues to utilize experienced veterans on the defensive side over rookies in need of reps.

Uncertain Future

Where is the path forward? Will the coach return or Spytek or the quarterback? And who truly decides those choices, Brady or Davis? How can a team function when its most powerful decision-maker participates sporadically, signs off major organizational decisions, and then vanishes on other projects?

It's going to be a struggle for the Raiders to get better – and they are in a conference stacked with consistently successful teams. At the same time, other rebuilders have clear trajectories. The New York Jets are loaded with future draft picks. The Titans and Giants have talented young QBs. The Raiders have little to build upon. No foundation. No quarterback. No distinctive style. No plan.

The single factor more problematic than being bad in the NFL is not knowing you're underperforming. The Raiders lack clarity on where they are, what they are building, or who will call the shots in the summer.

Tom Brady once excelled at football through intense dedication. The Raiders could benefit from more than an hour of it.