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Tom Brady dedicated over two decades to a singular objective: establishing himself as the greatest quarterback in league history. He accomplished that goal. Now, in his post-playing career, Brady has explored numerous pursuits. He works as a commentator for Fox. He's engaged in development ventures in Birmingham. He has endorsed cryptocurrency. He's spreading the NFL to the Middle East. He operates a successful YouTube channel. He even cloned his family pet. Brady's retirement ventures appear either diverse or aimless, based on your perspective.

Secondary ventures are understandable. But managing a professional franchise is not a casual commitment. Alongside his various responsibilities, Brady also serves as the unofficial football leader for the Las Vegas franchise, currently the least successful team in the NFL.

The Raiders fell to 2–9 on this past weekend after enduring a 24-10 defeat to the Browns. The Raiders didn't just lose; they were embarrassed by a struggling team with a QB making his first NFL start. The Raiders' offensive unit averaged less than three yards per play before meaningless action in the final period. Their quarterback was sacked 10 times and was pressured 46 times, a single-game high for any team this season. On defense, Las Vegas surrendered big plays to a Cleveland offensive unit that has been ineffective for most of the campaign. Any way you slice it, it was a thorough domination. Fortunately Brady didn't have to witness it. The architect of this current situation was working in Dallas on the network coverage for Eagles-Cowboys.

A Series of Dubious Choices

To be fair to Brady, he has only spent one season leading the team's football decisions, becoming a minority owner of the organization in 2024. But he was responsible for every major decision last summer, and all of them has proven unsuccessful. Those decisions have resulted in the Raiders as the least entertaining and aimless 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 Super Bowl 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 hand them off with a solid foundation in place. Instead, Carroll is facing the prospect of being fired after one season in Vegas, and the Raiders are looking at another restart.

Organizational Dysfunction

This isn't all Brady's fault, naturally. The majority owner is still the majority owner. Davis has cycled through coaches and executives at a rate that would make even the Jets blush. The Raiders are on their seventh coach and fifth general manager in 15 years, a instability that has erased any coherent long-term vision. Still, it's Brady's fingerprints that are all over this version of the Raiders. "This is the Brady's project," NFL Insider a prominent journalist said last summer. "He's been integrally involved," Carroll stated of Brady at his introductory news conference in January. "This is his chance to leave his mark on a franchise."

Brady made the key hires and set the Raiders on this directionless path. He hired a close associate, his college buddy and colleague in Tampa, to serve as general manager. He approved a team strategy to the coach's specifications, including dealing a draft selection for Smith and drafting a RB No 6 overall despite having a bottom-tier offensive line. He recruited Chip Kelly away from the NCAA, making him the top-earning OC in the league. And he approved entrusting a flaky blocking unit – the foundation for that coordinator and running back – to Carroll's son.

Catastrophic Results

It has become a disaster. Last season's Raiders were a team with limited success, but they were scrappy and resilient. This year's Raiders are a disorganized situation. Carroll has implemented an outdated defensive philosophy, Smith looks past his prime and the Raiders' blocking unit has submarined any hopes for Ashton Jeanty and the ground attack. At the very least, Carroll was supposed to bring energy. But the Raiders were lifeless on Sunday, waiting for the snaps to the conclusion of the game.

The contrast with Cleveland was pronounced. The situation often seems dire with the Browns, but there are glimmers of optimism. Myles Garrett, now just five quarterback takedowns away from the NFL all-time mark, leads a formidable defense. And there is optimism around the impressive first-year players that includes multiple promising talents – Quinshon Judkins at running back and Carson Schwesinger at LB. There is also Shedeur Sanders, who may not be the permanent solution at QB, but who is a viable option in the short-term.

Granted, it was facing the Raiders' defensive unit, but Sanders demonstrated that the stage was not too big for him. With a complete preparation period to get ready, he was effective, taking what the opposition gave him and displaying flashes of creativity. Sanders became the first Browns rookie quarterback to win his first start since 1995.

Absence of Direction

The rookie quarterback and his classmates of the Browns' first-year players represent promise. That's a mirror the Raiders should avoid. Good organizations understand their situation in the league hierarchy: you're either a contender, a competitive squad, or rebuilding. Vegas entered 2025 believing they were a few adjustments away from competitiveness. Despite the overwhelming evidence otherwise, they haven't pivoted during the season. Similar to the Browns, Vegas should be throwing out young players to discover what they have for the coming years. But only two rookies have seen real playing time. There has reportedly already been disagreement between the coaches and the front office regarding the lack of action for two rookie offensive linemen, despite the o-line being a sieve. Rookie receivers Jack Bech and Dont'e Thornton Jr have totaled nine catches in eleven contests, despite the ineffectiveness in the aerial attack. Carroll continues to roll out grizzled vets on defense over young players in need of reps.

Uncertain Future

Where is the future direction? Will Carroll be back or the GM or the quarterback? And who actually makes those decisions, Brady or Davis? How can a franchise operate when its primary influencer participates sporadically, signs off 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 filled with consistently successful teams. At the same time, other reconstructing teams have clear trajectories. The New York Jets are loaded with upcoming selections. The Tennessee and New York have promising young quarterbacks. The Raiders have little to build upon. No foundation. No quarterback. No identity. No plan.

The single factor more problematic than being bad in the NFL is not knowing you're underperforming. The Raiders don't know where they are, what they are developing, or who will make decisions in the offseason.

Tom Brady once excelled at football through ruthless focus. The Raiders could benefit from more than limited attention of it.