Marshawn Lynch busts out ‘Raiders’ cheer to support Pete Carroll’s hiring

At 73, Pete Carroll is the NFL’s oldest head coach, but his youthful energy and passion have long been his hallmarks.

Perhaps the only one at his Las Vegas Raiders introductory conference who matched his enthusiasm was former running back Marshawn Lynch, who screamed “Raaiiidddeeerrrsss!” when Carroll said he wanted Allegiant Stadium to be filled with fans of the home team. 

Opposing fans often make it feel like a neutral or away game for the Raiders.

“Hey, Mark, settle down a little bit,” Carroll said jokingly to team owner Mark Davis.

It was a reunion of sorts for Carroll and Lynch, who won a Super Bowl together with the Seattle Seahawks — and might have won another if Carroll had opted to call a running play from the 1-yard line in Super Bowl XLIX.

Lynch retired after the 2015 season but then returned to the league in 2017 to play with the Raiders, then located in his hometown of Oakland. He rejoined the Seahawks at the end of the 2019 season and through their playoff run, his final stint in the NFL before transitioning into other roles, including what has turned into a successful acting career.  

Carroll won’t have Lynch on his team in his latest NFL gig, but he clearly has his support. He’ll also be looking to bring a little of that Beast Mode-type confidence back to the Raiders.

Carson Palmer on his former coach Pete Carroll joining the Raiders | The Herd

The glory years for the Raiders ended more than two decades ago, and the tradition-rich franchise once known for its swagger as much as its championship pedigree has become a reclamation project.

It’s something Carroll, who was introduced along with new general manager John Spytek at the news conference Monday, knows a little about by turning floundering Southern California and the Seahawks into championship teams.

Now he’s trying to do the same thing in Las Vegas.

Carroll found himself at a coaching crossroads after he was fired after going 27-21 from 1997-99 with the New England Patriots.

He found another chance at USC and made the most of it. Carroll took over a program that went 5-7 in 2000 and two seasons later began a seven-year run of double-digit victories that included the 2003 AP national championship and 2004 national title.

[Related: The 10 best national championship teams since 2000]

When Carroll became Seattle’s coach in 2010, the Seahawks were coming off two seasons with nine combined victories. They finished 7-9 in each of Carroll’s first two seasons before becoming one of the NFL’s top teams that included a Super Bowl title in the 2013 season.

“It took us a few years to get to the very top of the last couple programs I was with,” Carroll said. “We’re starting right now, going for it immediately. We don’t have some time that we’ve got to make it five, six years down the road. That’s not what we’re thinking. We’ve got to start right now to go after it and build this team as quickly as we can.”

The Raiders, who fired Antonio Pierce after a 4-13 finish in 2024, have not won a playoff game since the 2002 season. That year, they lost in the Super Bowl to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They’ve been back to the postseason just twice since. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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