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Tom Brady dedicated over two decades to a singular mission: becoming the most accomplished QB in league history. He accomplished that dream. Today, in his post-playing career, Brady has ventured into numerous endeavors. He serves as a broadcaster for Fox. He's involved in development ventures in Birmingham. He has promoted digital assets. He's spreading American football to Saudi Arabia. He maintains a successful YouTube channel. He even cloned his dog. Brady's post-career activities appear either diverse or unfocused, depending on your perspective.

Secondary ventures are understandable. But managing a NFL team is not a part-time job. Alongside his various responsibilities, Brady functions as the de facto football leader for the Las Vegas franchise, presently the least successful team in the NFL.

The Raiders fell to 2–9 on this past weekend after enduring a 24-10 defeat to the Cleveland Browns. The Raiders didn't just lose; they were humiliated by a struggling team with a quarterback making his first NFL start. The Raiders' offensive unit averaged 2.9 yards per play before meaningless plays in the final period. Their quarterback was sacked 10 times and faced pressure 46 times, a single-game high for any franchise this season. On defense, Las Vegas allowed significant gains to a Cleveland offense that has been dysfunctional for the majority of the season. Any way you slice it, it was a comprehensive beatdown. Fortunately Brady didn't have to witness it. The primary decision-maker of this current situation was working in Dallas on the network coverage for another game.

A Collection of Dubious Choices

In fairness to Brady, he has only spent one season leading the team's personnel choices, becoming a partial stakeholder of the franchise in 2024. But he was responsible for every significant move last offseason, and all of them has backfired. Those decisions have resulted in the Raiders as the least entertaining and aimless franchise in the NFL.

This wasn't expected to be a multi-year rebuild. The Raiders didn't appoint veteran coach Pete Carroll, among a select group to win both a championship and a NCAA title, to oversee a protracted process back up the league table. He was expected to restore the team to competitiveness and then hand them off with a stable base in place. Instead, Carroll is facing the possibility of being fired after one season in Vegas, and the Raiders are looking at another reboot.

Franchise Dysfunction

This is not all Brady's fault, naturally. The majority owner is still the majority owner. Davis has churned through head coaches and front-office heads at a rate that would make even the New York Jets blush. The Raiders are on their seventh head coach and fifth GM in 15 years, a instability that has erased any clear strategic direction. Still, it's Brady's fingerprints that are all over this version of the Raiders. "This is the Brady's project," NFL Insider Tom Pelissero commented last summer. "He's been integrally involved," Carroll said of Brady at his first press conference in January. "This is his chance to leave his mark on a franchise."

Brady made the crucial appointments and set the Raiders on this directionless path. He hired John Spytek, his former teammate and co-worker in Tampa, to serve as general manager. He approved a team strategy to the coach's specifications, including trading a draft selection for Geno Smith and selecting a running back with the sixth pick despite having a poor-performing offensive line. He lured an offensive innovator away from the NCAA, making him the highest-paid OC in the NFL. And he approved handing a flaky offensive line – the bedrock for that coordinator and running back – to Carroll's son.

Disastrous Outcomes

It's been a complete failure. Last season's Raiders were a four-win team, but they were competitive and competitive. This year's Raiders are a confused mess. Carroll has implemented an outdated defensive philosophy, the quarterback looks past his prime and the Raiders' blocking unit has undermined any hopes for Ashton Jeanty and the ground attack. If nothing else, Carroll was supposed to bring energy. But the Raiders were uninspired on Sunday, counting down the plays to the end of the game.

The difference with Cleveland was pronounced. The situation often seems dire with the Browns, but there are glimmers of optimism. Myles Garrett, now just five sacks away from the NFL single-season record, leads a formidable defense. And there is optimism around the stellar-looking rookie class that includes multiple promising talents – Quinshon Judkins at running back and a skilled defender at linebacker. There is also the rookie QB, who may not be the permanent solution at quarterback, but who is An Answer in the short-term.

Granted, it was facing the Raiders' defense, but Sanders showed that the NFL level was not too big for him. With a complete preparation period to get ready, he was solid, taking 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

Sanders and the rest of the Browns' rookie class represent future potential. That's a reflection the Raiders should avoid. Successful franchises understand their position in the ecosystem: you're either a championship candidate, a competitive squad, or undergoing reconstruction. Vegas began the season thinking they were a couple of moves away from respectability. In spite of the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, they haven't pivoted midstream. Similar to the Browns, Vegas should be playing young players to discover what they have for the coming years. But only two rookies have seen significant action. There has reportedly already been tension between the coaches and the front office regarding the lack of action 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 11 games, despite the ineffectiveness in the passing game. Carroll continues to utilize grizzled vets on the defensive side over rookies in need of experience.

Unclear Future

What is the future direction? Will Carroll be back or Spytek or the quarterback? And who truly decides those choices, Brady or Davis? How can a franchise function when its most powerful decision-maker logs in occasionally, signs off franchise-altering moves, and then vanishes on side quests?

It's going to be a struggle for the Raiders to improve – and they are in a division filled with consistently successful teams. At the same time, other reconstructing teams have paths. The Jets are stocked with future draft picks. The Titans and Giants have talented young QBs. The Raiders have little to build upon. No core. No quarterback. No distinctive style. No strategic vision.

The single factor more problematic than being bad in the NFL is not knowing you're bad. The Raiders don't know where they are, what they are building, or who will call the shots in the offseason.

Tom Brady once excelled at football through ruthless focus. The Raiders could use more than an hour of it.