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Tom Brady dedicated over two decades to a unwavering objective: becoming the most accomplished QB in league history. He achieved that goal. Now, in retirement, Brady has ventured into various endeavors. He works as a commentator for Fox. He's engaged in development ventures in Birmingham. He has promoted cryptocurrency. He's expanding the NFL to the Middle East. He operates a successful YouTube channel. He even cloned his family pet. Brady's retirement activities appear either eclectic or unfocused, depending on your perspective.

Secondary ventures are one thing. But managing a NFL team is not a part-time job. In addition to his various responsibilities, Brady functions as the de facto football leader for the Raiders, currently the most hapless team in the NFL.

The Raiders dropped to 2–9 on Sunday after enduring a 24-10 defeat to the Cleveland Browns. The Raiders didn't just lose; they were humiliated by a underperforming team with a quarterback making his professional debut. The Raiders' offense averaged less than three yards per play before garbage-time action in the fourth quarter. Their quarterback was sacked 10 times and was pressured 46 times, a single-game high for any franchise this year. On defense, Las Vegas surrendered big plays to a Cleveland offense that has been ineffective for the majority of the campaign. Any way you slice it, it was a thorough domination. Fortunately Brady didn't have to watch. The primary decision-maker of this current situation was working in Dallas on the Fox broadcast for Eagles-Cowboys.

A Collection of Questionable Decisions

In fairness to Brady, he has only spent one season guiding the team's football decisions, becoming a minority owner of the organization in 2024. But he was accountable for every significant move last offseason, and each one has proven unsuccessful. Those moves have left the Raiders as the most unwatchable and aimless franchise in the league.

This wasn't expected to be a lengthy reconstruction. The Raiders didn't hire veteran coach Pete Carroll, one of only three coaches to win both a championship and a NCAA title, to manage a protracted process back up the standings. He was supposed to return the team to competitiveness and then hand them off with a solid foundation in place. Instead, Carroll is facing the possibility of being one-and-done in Vegas, and the Raiders are looking at another reboot.

Franchise Turmoil

This isn't all Brady's fault, of course. Mark Davis is still the majority owner. Davis has churned through coaches and executives at a speed that would make even the Jets feel embarrassed. 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 influence that are all over this iteration of the Raiders. "This is the Tom Brady show," NFL Insider Tom Pelissero commented last offseason. "He's been integrally involved," Carroll stated of Brady at his first press conference in January. "This is his opportunity to put his stamp on a franchise."

Brady made the key hires and placed the Raiders on this directionless path. He hired John Spytek, his former teammate and co-worker in Tampa, to act as GM. He greenlit a roster plan to Carroll's preference, including dealing a draft selection for Smith and drafting a running back with the sixth pick despite having a poor-performing O-line. He lured Chip Kelly away from the college ranks, making him the top-earning OC in the league. And he signed off on handing a flaky blocking unit – the foundation for that coordinator and ball carrier – to the coach's family member.

Catastrophic Outcomes

It has become 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 installed an old-fashioned defensive philosophy, the quarterback looks washed and the Raiders' blocking unit has undermined any hopes for their rookie and the ground attack. If nothing else, Carroll was supposed to bring energy. But the Raiders were lifeless on Sunday, counting down the plays to the end of the game.

The contrast with Cleveland was pronounced. 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 all-time mark, leads a dominant defensive unit. And there is optimism around the impressive first-year players that includes multiple promising talents – Quinshon Judkins at RB and a skilled defender at LB. There is also the rookie QB, who may not be The Answer at QB, but who is An Answer in the short-term.

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

Lack of Direction

The rookie quarterback and his classmates of the Browns' rookie class symbolize promise. That's a mirror the Raiders don't want to look into. Good organizations recognize their situation in the league hierarchy: you're either a championship candidate, a frisky playoff team, or rebuilding. Vegas entered 2025 thinking they were a few adjustments away from competitiveness. In spite of the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, they failed to adjust midstream. Like Cleveland, Vegas should be playing young players to discover what they have for the future. But only two first-year players have seen significant action. There has reportedly already been tension between the coaching staff and the management regarding the limited playing time for two young blockers, despite the o-line being a sieve. Rookie receivers Jack Bech and Dont'e Thornton Jr have totaled nine receptions in eleven contests, despite the lack of spark in the passing game. Carroll continues to roll out grizzled vets on the defensive side over rookies in need of experience.

Uncertain Future

What is the future direction? Will Carroll be back or the GM or Smith? And who truly decides those decisions, Brady or Davis? How can a franchise function when its primary influencer logs in occasionally, signs off major organizational decisions, and then disappears 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. Meanwhile, other reconstructing teams have clear trajectories. The New York Jets are loaded with upcoming selections. The Tennessee and New York have talented young QBs. The Raiders have little to build upon. No core. No franchise QB. No distinctive style. No plan.

The only thing more dangerous than being ineffective in the NFL is not recognizing you're bad. The Raiders don't know where they are, what they are developing, or who will call the shots in the offseason.

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