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Tom Brady committed over two decades to a singular objective: establishing himself as the greatest quarterback in league history. He achieved that goal. Today, in his post-playing career, Brady has ventured into various pursuits. He serves as a broadcaster for Fox. He's involved in construction projects in the UK. He has promoted digital assets. He's expanding American football to Saudi Arabia. He operates a popular YouTube channel. He replicated his dog. Brady's post-career activities appear either diverse or unfocused, based on your viewpoint.

Side projects are one thing. But managing a NFL team is not a part-time job. Alongside his various responsibilities, Brady also serves as the de facto decision-maker for the Raiders, presently the most hapless team in the league.

The Raiders dropped to 2–9 on this past weekend after suffering a decisive loss to the Browns. The Raiders didn't just get defeated; they were humiliated by a struggling team with a quarterback making his professional debut. The Raiders' offense averaged less than three yards per play before meaningless plays in the final period. Geno Smith was tackled 10 times and faced pressure 46 times, a season record for any team this season. On the defensive side, Las Vegas allowed big plays to a Cleveland offensive unit that has been dysfunctional for most of the campaign. However you analyze it, it was a thorough domination. At least Brady didn't have to watch. The primary decision-maker of this latest Vegas mess was sitting in Dallas on the network coverage for Eagles-Cowboys.

A Series of Questionable Choices

To be fair to Brady, he has only been involved for a year leading the team's personnel choices, becoming a partial stakeholder of the franchise in 2024. But he was responsible for every significant move last offseason, and all of them has proven unsuccessful. Those moves have left the Raiders as the most unwatchable and directionless franchise in the league.

This wasn't supposed to be a lengthy reconstruction. The Raiders didn't appoint veteran coach Pete Carroll, one of only three coaches to win both a Super Bowl and a college national championship, to oversee a protracted process back up the standings. He was supposed to return the team to competitiveness and then hand them off with a stable base in place. Instead, Carroll is staring at the prospect of being fired after one season in Vegas, and the Raiders are looking at another restart.

Organizational Dysfunction

This is not entirely Brady's responsibility, naturally. The majority owner is still the majority owner. Davis has cycled through head coaches and front-office heads at a speed that would make even the Jets blush. The Raiders are on their seventh head coach and fifth general manager in 15 years, a turnover rate that has erased any clear strategic direction. Still, it's Brady's fingerprints that are all over this version of the Raiders. "This is the Tom Brady show," NFL Insider a prominent journalist commented last summer. "He's been deeply engaged," Carroll said of Brady at his first press conference in January. "This is his chance to put his stamp on a team."

Brady made the key hires and set the Raiders on this directionless path. He hired John Spytek, his former teammate and colleague in Tampa, to serve as GM. He greenlit a team strategy to the coach's specifications, including trading a draft selection for Smith and selecting 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 top-earning OC in the NFL. And he approved entrusting a flaky blocking unit – the bedrock for that coach and ball carrier – to Carroll's son.

Disastrous Results

It has become a complete failure. The previous year's Raiders were a team with limited success, but they were scrappy and resilient. This year's Raiders are a confused mess. Carroll has implemented an old-fashioned defensive scheme, Smith looks washed and the Raiders' blocking unit has undermined any aspirations for their rookie and the run game. At the very least, Carroll was supposed to bring enthusiasm. But the Raiders were uninspired on Sunday, counting down 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 dominant defensive unit. And there is positive outlook around the stellar-looking first-year players that includes two potential stars – Quinshon Judkins at RB and Carson Schwesinger at linebacker. There is also Shedeur Sanders, who may not be the permanent solution at QB, but who is An Answer in the immediate future.

Granted, it was facing the Raiders' defensive unit, but Sanders showed that the stage was not too big for him. With a full week to prepare, he was effective, taking what the opposition gave him and showing glimpses 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' rookie class symbolize future potential. That's a reflection the Raiders should avoid. Good organizations understand their position in the league hierarchy: you're either a championship candidate, a competitive squad, or undergoing reconstruction. Vegas entered 2025 thinking they were a few adjustments away from competitiveness. In spite of the overwhelming evidence otherwise, they failed to adjust midstream. Like Cleveland, Vegas should be throwing out young players to discover what they have for the future. But only two rookies have seen real playing time. There has apparently already been tension between the coaches and the front office regarding the limited playing time for two rookie offensive linemen, despite the o-line being a weak point. Rookie receivers two young talents have totaled nine catches in eleven contests, despite the ineffectiveness in the aerial attack. Carroll continues to roll out experienced veterans on the defensive side over rookies in need of experience.

Unclear Future

Where is the path forward? Will the coach return or the GM or Smith? And who truly decides those choices, Brady or Davis? How can a team operate when its most powerful decision-maker logs in occasionally, approves franchise-altering moves, and then vanishes on other projects?

It will prove a struggle for the Raiders to improve – and they are in a conference stacked with consistently successful teams. At the same time, other reconstructing teams have paths. The New York Jets are stocked with upcoming selections. The Tennessee and New York have talented young QBs. The Raiders have nothing. No core. No quarterback. No distinctive style. No plan.

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 building, or who will call the shots in the summer.

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