Scott Gulbransen
I’ve been covering the Las Vegas Raiders long enough to know that hope is a dangerous thing around here. So when I say John Spytek’s pre-NFL Draft press conference Tuesday felt genuinely different — not just in tone, but in substance — understand that I’m saying it with one eye on the exit, waiting for something to blow up.
Because that’s what this franchise does. Or at least, what it has done.
Raiders Reset Seems Familiar
Rewind 15 months. The Las Vegas Raiders had just hired Pete Carroll, a 73-year-old coach who hadn’t been on an NFL sideline in two years, and traded a third-round pick to Seattle to reunite him with Geno Smith.
That decision alone told you everything you needed to know about where the power structure actually sat and who was truly calling the shots on roster construction. Carroll wanted his quarterback. He got his quarterback. And John Spytek, whether he was fully on board or quietly skeptical, went along with it.
The results were exactly what most of us feared. Smith threw a league-high 17 interceptions. Carroll fired his offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator mid-season. The Raiders finished 3-14, last in rushing yards, 26th in points allowed. They were shut out twice. It was a full organizational failure — coaching, personnel and execution — compressed into one miserable season.
Now, here’s the uncomfortable question: how much of that was Spytek’s fault?
I’m not letting him off the hook. He was the general manager. Geno Smith was on his watch. The offensive line situation that Carroll later publicly complained about, suggesting the Las Vegas Raiders front office didn’t back him, happened under Spytek’s leadership. You can debate how much freedom he actually had, whether Tom Brady’s advisory role muddied the decision-making, or whether Mark Davis simply wasn’t ready to commit to a real rebuild with the resources it requires. All of those things are probably true to varying degrees.
But John Spytek signed off on it. That’s on him.
Spytek and Las Vegas Raiders Going About Business Differently
What makes 2026 different is that there’s no ambiguity about the direction anymore. Klint Kubiak is the right coach for this moment — young, offensive-minded, not walking in with a “we can compete right now” delusion. Kirk Cousins is a legitimate bridge quarterback. Tyler Linderbaum anchors the interior line. Ashton Jeanty gives them a legitimate offensive weapon. And Fernando Mendoza, barring a blockbuster nobody sees coming, is about to become the face of this franchise.
More importantly, Spytek sounded like a man who actually controls his own NFL Draft room. Tuesday’s press conference wasn’t a guy managing competing agendas. It was a GM talking about offensive linemen the way a real evaluator talks about offensive linemen: with genuine obsession. It was a front office that had thought through the NIL and transfer portal implications of modern scouting. It was an organization that acknowledged the safety room wasn’t fine when it wasn’t.
“There’s only one team that can get the exact person they want,” Spytek said, talking about holding the No. 1 pick. “We have that option available to us this year, if we so choose.”
That’s not a man operating under someone else’s agenda. That sounds like a GM with actual authority heading into the NFL Draft.
The Jury is Out on Raiders Until the Plan Shows Progress
And yet, three decades of Raiders dysfunction don’t evaporate because one press conference went well. This franchise has produced more fresh starts than a faulty engine. The right coach, the right GM, the right vision — we’ve heard versions of this before. Sometimes the walls close in before the foundation gets set.
What I’ll say is this: the pre-draft process in 2026 looks nothing like the chaos that defined this organization’s recent past. The Carroll hire, the Geno gamble, the internal confusion about who was actually building this roster — none of that energy exists right now. Whether that’s because Spytek learned hard lessons from his first year, because Davis finally loosened his grip, or because Brady’s role has been properly defined, the result is a front office that at least appears to be rowing in the same direction.
That’s real progress. I’ll acknowledge it.
I’ll be more vocal about it once I see it working with results on the field.
