Will a Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson reunion happen in Vegas?

Jan 24, 2025, 12:16 PM | Updated: 1:17 pm

Seattle Sports

Could former Seattle Seahawks stars Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll reunite?

Rost: Why Pete Carroll is the coach the Las Vegas Raiders need

It’s now a possibility after the venerable Carroll was reportedly hired as the next head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders on Friday morning. Wilson, who spent 10 seasons as the Seahawks’ quarterback under Carroll, is set to become a free agent this offseason after one season as the starter for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Carroll and Wilson were thought to have a strained relationship after the saga that led to Wilson’s trade from Seattle to the Denver Broncos after the 2021 season. However, it appears that the relationship has been repaired over the past few years.

After reports of the 73-year-old Carroll’s hiring came out, NFL insider Jeff Howe from The Athletic posted on social media that one name he’s heard to watch for the Raiders is Wilson.

“They’ve mended fences, per source, and Wilson could be a stopgap while the Raiders develop a long-term answer,” Howe wrote.

Wilson himself had plenty of praise for Carroll and revealed he’s reconnected with his former coach during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday.

“I think Pete’s an amazing football coach. I think he’s an amazing individual,” Wilson said. “… I think Pete will do a great job wherever he goes. I’m not sure exactly where he’s looking or whatever, but if he gets the opportunity, I know he’ll do a great job. And we’ve always stayed in touch. I went to see him and a lot of the other guys, Bobby (Wagner) and the guys like Doug Baldwin and DK Metcalf and all that, (Richard Sherman) and all those guys, when coach Carroll got let go from Seattle. We spent a lot of time there and we flew back in and just spent a lot of time with him.”

Bump weighs in on Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson

Wilson and Carroll made eight playoff appearances and won five NFC West titles and one Super Bowl together in Seattle.

After a tumultuous two years in Denver, Wilson somewhat revived his career while leading the Steelers to the playoffs this past season. His future with Pittsburgh is unclear, though, as former first-round pick Justin Fields is also a set to hit free agency and remains an option.

Carroll is taking over a Raiders squad that went 4-13 last season and doesn’t appear to have a clear direction at quarterback. Las Vegas started the year with former WSU Cougars standout Gardner Minshew as the starter, but it also turned to Aidan O’Connell and Desmond Ridder throughout the season. The trio combined for 19 touchdowns and 16 interceptions as the Raiders finished 12th in the league with 223.4 passing yards per game, but 26th with just 6.5 yards per attempt.

Former NFL wide receiver Michael Bumpus feels a Carroll and Wilson reunion would be an interesting one, but it’s dependent on what the Raiders plan to do at quarterback in the upcoming draft. Las Vegas hold the sixth overall pick and would likely need to trade up to grab one of the consensus top two quarterbacks in the this year’s class, Miami’s Cam Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders.

“I wouldn’t be mad at it,” Bumpus said Friday during Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy of a potential Carroll and Wilson reunion. “… I think that if you go get your No. 1 and No. 2 (quarterback), you get a veteran, but not a veteran like Russell Wilson. (You get) a veteran that has been around the league a couple times and can kind of mentor that guy, because Russell is going to want to play. Russell ain’t the type that wants to come over to Las Vegas and just be a mentor. He thinks he still has some football left to him. I think he does as well.

“If Russell were to go to the Vegas Raiders, that means that they’re not moving up in the draft to get a quarterback.”

Tune in to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.