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Tom Brady dedicated 23 NFL seasons to a singular mission: establishing himself as the greatest quarterback in NFL history. He achieved that dream. Today, in his post-playing career, Brady has ventured into numerous pursuits. He works as a broadcaster for a major network. He's involved in construction projects in Birmingham. He has endorsed digital assets. He's spreading the NFL to the Middle East. He maintains a popular YouTube channel. He replicated his family pet. Brady's post-career ventures appear either diverse or aimless, depending on your viewpoint.

Secondary ventures are understandable. But overseeing a NFL team is not a part-time job. Alongside his other roles, Brady functions as the de facto decision-maker for the Las Vegas franchise, presently the most hapless team in the league.

The Raiders dropped to 2–9 on Sunday after suffering a 24-10 defeat to the Browns. The Raiders didn't just get defeated; they were humiliated by a underperforming team with a QB making his first NFL start. The Raiders' offensive unit averaged 2.9 yards per play before garbage-time action in the fourth quarter. Geno Smith was tackled 10 times and faced pressure 46 times, a single-game high for any team this season. On the defensive side, Las Vegas allowed significant gains to a Cleveland offense that has been dysfunctional for the majority of the campaign. However you analyze it, it was a thorough domination. Fortunately Brady didn't have to watch. The architect of this current situation was sitting in Dallas on the network coverage for another game.

A Collection of Questionable Decisions

To be fair to Brady, he has only spent one season guiding the team's personnel choices, after becoming a partial stakeholder of the franchise in 2024. But he was accountable for every major decision last summer, and all of them has proven unsuccessful. Those decisions have left the Raiders as the least entertaining and directionless franchise in the league.

This wasn't expected to be a lengthy reconstruction. The Raiders didn't hire 74-year-old Pete Carroll, one of only three coaches to win both a championship and a college national championship, to manage a protracted process back up the standings. He was supposed to restore the team to relevance and then transition them with a stable base in place. Instead, Carroll is staring at the possibility of being fired after one season in Vegas, and the Raiders are looking at another restart.

Franchise Turmoil

This is not entirely Brady's responsibility, naturally. The majority owner is still the controlling stakeholder. Davis has cycled through 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 instability that has erased any clear strategic direction. Still, it's Brady's influence that are evident throughout this iteration of the Raiders. "This is the Tom Brady show," NFL Insider Tom Pelissero commented last summer. "He's been integrally involved," Carroll said of Brady at his introductory news conference in January. "This is his opportunity to put his stamp on a team."

Brady made the key hires and set the Raiders on this rudderless course. He appointed John Spytek, his former teammate and co-worker in Tampa, to serve as GM. He greenlit a team strategy to the coach's specifications, including trading a draft selection for Geno Smith and selecting a running back with the sixth pick despite having a bottom-tier offensive line. He lured an offensive innovator away from the NCAA, making him the highest-paid OC in the league. And he signed off on entrusting a unreliable offensive line – the foundation for that coordinator and running back – to Carroll's son.

Disastrous Outcomes

It's been a disaster. The previous year's Raiders were a four-win team, but they were scrappy and competitive. The current Raiders are a disorganized situation. Carroll has implemented an outdated defensive philosophy, the quarterback looks past his prime and the Raiders' blocking unit has undermined any aspirations for their rookie and the run game. If nothing else, Carroll was supposed to bring enthusiasm. But the Raiders were lifeless on Sunday, waiting for the snaps to the end of the game.

The contrast with Cleveland was stark. Things are always bleak with the Browns, but there are embers of hope. Myles Garrett, now just five sacks away from the NFL single-season record, leads a dominant defensive unit. And there is optimism around the stellar-looking first-year players that includes multiple promising talents – Quinshon Judkins at RB and a skilled defender at linebacker. There is also Shedeur Sanders, who may not be The Answer at quarterback, but who is a viable option in the immediate future.

Admittedly, it was facing the Raiders' defensive unit, but Sanders demonstrated that the NFL level was not overwhelming for him. With a complete preparation period to prepare, he was solid, accepting what the defense gave him and showing flashes of improvisation. Sanders became the first Browns rookie quarterback to win his first start since 1995.

Lack of Vision

Sanders and the rest of the Browns' rookie class represent future potential. That's a reflection 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 undergoing reconstruction. Vegas began the season thinking they were a couple of moves away from respectability. Despite the clear indications to the contrary, they failed to adjust during the season. Similar to the Browns, Vegas should be throwing out young players to find out what they have for the future. But only two rookies have seen real playing time. There has apparently already been disagreement between the coaching staff and the front office regarding the lack of action for two rookie offensive linemen, despite the offensive line being a sieve. Rookie receivers two young talents have totaled nine catches in eleven contests, despite the ineffectiveness in the aerial attack. Carroll continues to utilize experienced veterans on defense over rookies in need of experience.

Unclear Future

What is the future direction? Will the coach return or Spytek or Smith? And who actually makes those choices, Brady or Davis? How can a franchise operate when its most powerful decision-maker participates sporadically, signs off major organizational decisions, and then vanishes on other projects?

It will prove a struggle for the Raiders to improve – and they are in a division stacked with consistently successful teams. At the same time, other reconstructing teams have paths. The New York Jets are stocked with future draft picks. The Tennessee and New York have talented young QBs. The Raiders have nothing. No foundation. No quarterback. 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 building, or who will call the shots in the summer.

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