The Denver Broncos, last offseason, saw the Las Vegas Raiders make sweeping changes, highlighted by hiring Pete Carroll and trading for Geno Smith. All of a sudden, it seemed like Vegas had something special brewing, as the duo of Carroll and Smith was seen as one that was going to bring some much-needed stability to the franchise after years of dysfunction.
Few expected a 3–14 collapse after the Raiders paired a winning head coach with a veteran quarterback who had already thrived under him. Carroll was adamant this wouldn’t be a teardown, publicly declaring before the season, “We’re going to win a ton, win a bunch of games.