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Tom Brady committed 23 NFL seasons to a singular mission: becoming the greatest quarterback in NFL history. He accomplished that goal. Today, in his post-playing career, Brady has ventured into various endeavors. He serves as a broadcaster for Fox. He's involved in construction projects in Birmingham. He has promoted cryptocurrency. He's expanding the NFL to the Middle East. He operates a successful YouTube channel. He replicated his family pet. Brady's post-career activities appear either diverse or aimless, based on your perspective.

Side projects are understandable. But managing a NFL team is not a casual commitment. In addition to his other roles, Brady functions as the unofficial decision-maker for the Las Vegas franchise, currently the most hapless team in the NFL.

The Raiders dropped to 2–9 on this past weekend after suffering a 24-10 defeat to the Cleveland Browns. The Raiders didn't just get defeated; they were embarrassed by a underperforming team with a quarterback making his first NFL start. The Raiders' offense averaged 2.9 yards per play before garbage-time action in the final period. Geno Smith was sacked 10 times and faced pressure 46 times, a season record for any franchise this season. On the defensive side, Las Vegas allowed big plays to a Cleveland offense that has been dysfunctional for the majority of the campaign. However you analyze it, it was a comprehensive beatdown. Fortunately Brady didn't have to witness it. The architect of this latest Vegas mess was working in Dallas on the Fox broadcast for Eagles-Cowboys.

A Collection of Questionable Choices

To be fair to Brady, he has only spent one season guiding the team's personnel choices, after becoming a minority owner of the organization in 2024. But he was accountable for every significant move last offseason, and all of them has proven unsuccessful. Those decisions have left the Raiders as the least entertaining and directionless team in the league.

This wasn't supposed to be a multi-year rebuild. The Raiders didn't appoint veteran coach Pete Carroll, one of only three coaches to win both a championship and a college national championship, to manage a long slog back up the standings. He was expected to return the team to relevance and then hand them off with a solid foundation in place. Conversely, Carroll is staring at the prospect of being one-and-done in Vegas, and the Raiders are looking at another restart.

Organizational Turmoil

This is not entirely Brady's responsibility, naturally. Mark Davis is still the controlling stakeholder. Davis has cycled through head coaches and executives at a speed 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 evident throughout this iteration of the Raiders. "This is the Brady's project," league reporter a prominent journalist said last offseason. "He's been deeply engaged," 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 John Spytek, his college buddy and co-worker in Tampa, to serve as general manager. He approved a team strategy to Carroll's preference, including trading a draft selection for Geno Smith and drafting a running back with the sixth pick despite having a poor-performing O-line. He lured Chip Kelly away from the NCAA, making him the highest-paid OC in the league. And he approved entrusting a flaky offensive line – the foundation for that coach and running back – to the coach's family member.

Disastrous Outcomes

It has become a complete failure. The previous year's Raiders were a team with limited success, but they were scrappy and resilient. The current Raiders are a confused mess. Carroll has implemented an outdated defensive scheme, Smith looks past his prime and the Raiders' offensive line has undermined any aspirations for their rookie and the run game. At the very least, Carroll was expected to bring enthusiasm. But the Raiders were uninspired on Sunday, waiting for the plays to the end of the game.

The difference with Cleveland was stark. The situation often seems dire with the Browns, but there are glimmers of optimism. Their star defender, now just five sacks away from the NFL single-season record, leads a formidable defense. And there is optimism around the impressive first-year players that includes multiple promising talents – a dynamic runner at RB and Carson Schwesinger at LB. There is also Shedeur Sanders, who may not be The Answer at QB, but who is a viable option in the immediate future.

Admittedly, it was against the Raiders' defensive unit, but Sanders demonstrated that the stage was not overwhelming for him. With a complete preparation period to prepare, he was effective, accepting what the opposition gave him and showing flashes of creativity. Sanders became the first Browns rookie quarterback to win his debut game since 1995.

Lack of Vision

Sanders and the rest of the Browns' first-year players represent future potential. That's a mirror the Raiders don't want to look into. Successful franchises recognize their situation in the ecosystem: you're either a contender, a frisky playoff team, or rebuilding. Vegas entered 2025 thinking they were a few adjustments away from competitiveness. In spite of the clear indications otherwise, they failed to adjust during the season. Like Cleveland, Vegas should be throwing out young players to find out what they have for the coming years. But only two first-year players have seen significant action. There has reportedly already been disagreement 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 two young talents have totaled nine catches in 11 games, despite the ineffectiveness in the aerial attack. Carroll continues to roll out experienced veterans on defense over rookies in need of experience.

Unclear Direction

What is the path forward? Will Carroll be back or Spytek or Smith? And who actually makes those decisions, Brady or Davis? How can a team operate when its most powerful decision-maker 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 rebuilders have clear trajectories. The 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 franchise QB. No identity. No plan.

The single factor more dangerous than being bad in the NFL is not knowing you're bad. The Raiders don't know where they are, what they are building, or who will call the shots in the offseason.

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