Though Pete Carroll’s final season with Geno Smith with the Raiders didn’t work out as expected, the longtime head coach still believes the veteran quarterback can help the Jets.
Not that he didn’t find it a bit amusing that Smith is returning to the Jets after his tumultuous first stint with the team.
“I had to chuckle a little bit because of the history and all,” Carroll told ESPN on Wednesday.
Carroll, who coached Smith from 2019-23 when both were with the Seahawks, still has a close relationship with the veteran signal-caller and called him a “phenomenal” quarterback.
“I love talking about G,” said Carroll, who was fired from the Raiders after the team’s 3-14 season. “I think I see him differently than a lot of people see him. I love him and appreciate him differently.”
Carroll, who led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl title in 2014, traded for Smith in 2025 with the hope the two could replicate some of the success they had in Seattle and took the blame for the QB’s struggles in Las Vegas.
“He had a fantastic offseason and preseason with us, and he comes out in the first game, has a great first game,” Carroll told ESPN. “It was all fitting. It was exactly the right time for us. Then we just faltered and faltered. We didn’t do well enough, coaching.
Last season, Smith, who was traded to the Jets on Tuesday, led the league in interceptions (17) and sacks (55). Carroll also fired offensive coordinator Chip Kelly after 11 games in what became a season to forget for the Raiders.
“We should’ve had him better prepared for the things that happened, and that wouldn’t have happened,” he continued. “I take a lot of responsibility in that. We didn’t prepare him well enough in the offseason even though he looked great and we felt we had everything lined up. It was very, very disappointing for us both.”
Smith, who threw for more than 4,200 yards in two of his three seasons with the Seahawks, also still holds Carroll in high regard despite the disastrous season they both had in Las Vegas.
“That man is special — a Hall of Fame coach and Hall of Fame person, through and through,” Smith told the Exhibit News Network on Tuesday. “I wanted to win a Super Bowl for him because that’s how much he means to me. It didn’t work out the way we envisioned.”
Carroll said he supports Smith’s decision to return to the Jets, who drafted him in 2013. He started 29 games for Gang Green in 2013 and ’14 before losing his job to Ryan Fitzpatrick because of a broken jaw he suffered in a locker-room fight with IK Enemkpali.
“If he figured out [New York] was a good place for him and he wanted to do it, and he was part of the decision, then I couldn’t support him more,” Carroll said. “If he saw the reasoning and felt the support and the opportunity, I couldn’t be in more favor of it. I love the guy and want the very best for him. He deserves it. He worked really hard to get where he is.”