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Tom Brady committed over two decades to a unwavering mission: becoming the greatest quarterback in NFL history. He accomplished that dream. Now, in retirement, Brady has ventured into various endeavors. He works as a commentator for a major network. He's engaged in construction projects in Birmingham. He has endorsed digital assets. He's expanding the NFL to Saudi Arabia. He operates a successful YouTube channel. He even cloned his family pet. Brady's post-career ventures appear either diverse or unfocused, depending on your viewpoint.

Side projects are understandable. But managing a professional franchise is hardly a part-time job. Alongside his various responsibilities, Brady functions as the de facto decision-maker for the Raiders, presently the least successful team in the league.

The Raiders dropped to 2–9 on Sunday after enduring a 24-10 defeat to the Browns. The Raiders didn't just get defeated; they were humiliated by a struggling team with a quarterback making his first NFL start. The Raiders' offense averaged 2.9 yards per play before meaningless action in the final period. Geno Smith was sacked 10 times and faced pressure 46 times, a single-game high for any franchise 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. Any way you slice it, it was a comprehensive beatdown. Fortunately Brady didn't have to witness it. The primary decision-maker of this latest Vegas mess was sitting in Dallas on the network coverage for Eagles-Cowboys.

A Collection of Questionable Choices

In fairness to Brady, he has only spent one season guiding the team's football decisions, after becoming a minority owner 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 resulted in the Raiders as the least entertaining and directionless franchise in the league.

This wasn't expected to be a multi-year rebuild. The Raiders didn't hire 74-year-old Pete Carroll, among a select group to win both a championship and a NCAA title, to manage a long slog back up the league table. He was supposed to restore the team to competitiveness and then hand them off with a stable base in place. Conversely, Carroll is staring at the prospect of being one-and-done in Vegas, and the Raiders are looking at another restart.

Organizational Dysfunction

This isn't all Brady's fault, of course. Mark Davis is still the controlling stakeholder. Davis has churned through head coaches and executives at a rate that would make even the New York Jets feel embarrassed. The Raiders are on their seventh 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 a prominent journalist said last summer. "He's been integrally involved," Carroll stated of Brady at his introductory news conference in January. "This is his chance to leave his mark on a franchise."

Brady was responsible for the crucial appointments and placed the Raiders on this directionless path. He hired John Spytek, his college buddy and co-worker in Tampa, to act as general manager. He greenlit a team strategy to the coach's specifications, including dealing a draft selection for Smith and selecting a running back with the sixth pick despite having a bottom-tier offensive line. He recruited an offensive innovator away from the NCAA, making him the highest-paid OC in the league. And he approved handing a flaky offensive line – the bedrock for that coordinator and running back – to the coach's family member.

Catastrophic Results

It's been a complete failure. The previous year's Raiders were a four-win team, but they were scrappy and competitive. This year's Raiders are a disorganized situation. Carroll has implemented an old-fashioned defensive philosophy, Smith looks past his prime and the Raiders' blocking unit has undermined any hopes for Ashton Jeanty and the run game. At the very least, Carroll was supposed to bring enthusiasm. But the Raiders were uninspired on Sunday, waiting for the plays to the conclusion of the game.

The difference with Cleveland was pronounced. Things are always bleak with the Browns, but there are embers of hope. Their star defender, now just five sacks away from the NFL all-time mark, leads a formidable defense. And there is optimism around the impressive rookie class that includes two potential stars – a dynamic runner at RB and Carson Schwesinger at LB. There is also Shedeur Sanders, who may not be The Answer at QB, but who is a viable option in the immediate future.

Admittedly, it was against the Raiders' defensive unit, but Sanders showed that the stage was not too big for him. With a complete preparation period to prepare, he was effective, taking what the defense gave him and showing flashes of creativity. Sanders became the first Browns rookie quarterback to win his first start since 1995.

Lack of Vision

Sanders and the rest of the Browns' first-year players symbolize promise. That's a reflection the Raiders don't want to look into. Successful franchises understand their position in the league hierarchy: you're either a contender, a competitive squad, or rebuilding. Vegas began the season believing they were a few adjustments away from competitiveness. In spite of the clear indications otherwise, they failed to adjust during the season. Similar to the Browns, Vegas should be playing rookies to discover what they have for the future. But only two first-year players have seen significant action. There has apparently already been tension between the coaching staff and the management regarding the lack of action for two rookie offensive linemen, despite the offensive line being a sieve. First-year pass catchers two young talents have combined for nine catches in eleven contests, despite the ineffectiveness in the aerial attack. Carroll continues to roll out grizzled vets on defense over young players in need of reps.

Unclear Direction

What is the future direction? Will Carroll be back or Spytek or the quarterback? And who actually makes those decisions, Brady or Davis? How can a team function when its most powerful decision-maker logs in occasionally, approves franchise-altering moves, and then disappears on side quests?

It's going to be a challenge for the Raiders to improve – and they are in a division filled with perennial playoff contenders. At the same time, other reconstructing teams have clear trajectories. The New York Jets are stocked with future draft picks. The Titans and Giants have promising young quarterbacks. The Raiders have little to build upon. No foundation. No quarterback. No distinctive style. No plan.

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

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