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Tom Brady committed 23 NFL seasons to a unwavering mission: becoming the most accomplished QB in league history. He achieved that dream. Now, in retirement, Brady has explored various pursuits. He works as a commentator for Fox. He's engaged in construction projects in the UK. He has endorsed digital assets. He's expanding American football to the Middle East. He operates a successful YouTube channel. He replicated his family pet. Brady's post-career activities appear either diverse or unfocused, based on your perspective.

Side projects are one thing. But overseeing a NFL team is hardly a casual commitment. In addition to his other roles, Brady functions as the de facto football leader for the Raiders, presently the most hapless team in the league.

The Raiders dropped to 2–9 on this past weekend after enduring a 24-10 defeat to the Cleveland Browns. The Raiders didn't just lose; they were humiliated by a struggling team with a quarterback making his first NFL start. The Raiders' offensive unit averaged less than three yards per play before garbage-time plays in the fourth quarter. Geno Smith was tackled 10 times and faced pressure 46 times, a single-game high for any franchise this season. On the defensive side, Las Vegas allowed significant gains to a Cleveland offense that has been dysfunctional for most of the season. However you analyze it, it was a thorough domination. At least Brady didn't have to witness it. The primary decision-maker of this current situation was working in Dallas on the Fox broadcast for Eagles-Cowboys.

A Series of Dubious Choices

To be fair to Brady, he has only spent one season guiding the team's personnel choices, becoming a minority owner of the organization in 2024. But he was responsible for every significant move last summer, and each one has backfired. Those moves have resulted in the Raiders as the most unwatchable and directionless franchise in the NFL.

This wasn't supposed to be a multi-year rebuild. The Raiders didn't hire 74-year-old Pete Carroll, one of only three coaches to win both a championship and a NCAA title, to oversee a protracted process back up the league table. He was supposed to restore the team to relevance and then transition them with a solid foundation in place. Instead, Carroll is staring at the prospect of being one-and-done in Vegas, and the Raiders are looking at another restart.

Franchise Turmoil

This is not entirely Brady's responsibility, naturally. Mark Davis is still the majority owner. Davis has churned through head coaches and front-office heads at a speed that would make even the New York Jets feel embarrassed. The Raiders are on their seventh coach and fifth general manager in 15 years, a instability that has erased any clear strategic direction. Nevertheless, it's Brady's fingerprints that are evident throughout this iteration of the Raiders. "This is the Tom Brady show," league reporter a prominent journalist commented last offseason. "He's been deeply engaged," Carroll stated of Brady at his first press conference in January. "This is his chance to put his stamp on a team."

Brady was responsible for the crucial appointments and set the Raiders on this rudderless course. He hired John Spytek, his former teammate and colleague in Tampa, to act as general manager. He greenlit a team strategy to Carroll's preference, including trading a third-round pick for Geno Smith and selecting a RB with the sixth pick despite having a bottom-tier offensive line. He recruited an offensive innovator away from the NCAA, making him the highest-paid OC in the league. And he signed off on handing a unreliable offensive line – the foundation for that coordinator and ball carrier – to Carroll's son.

Disastrous Results

It's been a disaster. Last season's Raiders were a four-win team, but they were scrappy and resilient. The current Raiders are a disorganized situation. Carroll has installed an outdated defensive scheme, Smith looks washed and the Raiders' blocking unit has undermined any hopes for their rookie and the ground attack. At the very least, Carroll was expected to bring enthusiasm. But the Raiders were uninspired on Sunday, counting down the plays to the end of the game.

The contrast with Cleveland was pronounced. Things are always bleak with the Browns, but there are embers of hope. Their star defender, now just five sacks away from the league all-time mark, leads a formidable defense. And there is positive outlook around the impressive rookie class that includes multiple promising talents – a dynamic runner at RB and a skilled defender at linebacker. There is also the rookie QB, who may not be The Answer at quarterback, but who is a viable option in the immediate future.

Admittedly, it was against the Raiders' defensive unit, but Sanders showed that the NFL level was not too big for him. With a full week to get ready, he was solid, taking what the defense gave him and displaying flashes of creativity. Sanders became the first Cleveland rookie QB to win his first start since 1995.

Lack of Vision

Sanders and the rest of the Browns' first-year players represent future potential. That's a mirror the Raiders should avoid. Good organizations recognize their position in the league hierarchy: you're either a contender, a frisky playoff team, or undergoing reconstruction. Vegas entered 2025 believing they were a couple of moves away from competitiveness. Despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, they failed to adjust midstream. Like Cleveland, Vegas should be throwing out rookies to discover what they have for the coming years. But only two rookies have seen real playing time. There has apparently already been disagreement between the coaches and the front office regarding the lack of action for two young blockers, despite the offensive line being a sieve. First-year pass catchers Jack Bech and Dont'e Thornton Jr have combined for nine catches in eleven contests, despite the ineffectiveness in the aerial attack. Carroll continues to utilize experienced veterans on the defensive side over young players in need of experience.

Uncertain Direction

Where is the future direction? Will Carroll be back or Spytek or the quarterback? And who truly decides those decisions, Brady or Davis? How can a team function when its primary influencer logs in occasionally, approves franchise-altering moves, and then vanishes on side quests?

It will prove a challenge for the Raiders to get better – and they are in a conference filled with consistently successful teams. Meanwhile, other reconstructing teams have clear trajectories. The Jets are loaded with upcoming selections. The Tennessee and New York have promising young quarterbacks. The Raiders have nothing. No foundation. No franchise QB. No identity. No strategic vision.

The single factor more dangerous than being bad in the NFL is not knowing you're underperforming. The Raiders lack clarity on where they are, what they are developing, or who will make decisions in the summer.

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