“I can’t tell you I learned that much because I know him just as well as you can know a player,” Pete Carroll told reporters when asked what he’s learned about Smith. “I was thrilled with how he embraced the leadership opportunity. And he’s been around me so much that he knows where we’re coming from and can step up at the right time, say the right thing, do the right thing. But Geno [Smith] is a natural leader.”He has developed over the years through all the hard knocks and the tough ways that he’s come up through it all to be a great competitor, and he knows to be a great competitor, you have to go for every opportunity that you have. And that’s what he’s done. And he’s just illustrated to these guys that, okay, if you’re part of our program, this is what’s expected. And I mean, I couldn’t ask for a better partner in bringing the word to our team.”
The Raiders have a duo that they truly love, or they wouldn’t have hired Carroll, and they wouldn’t have traded for Smith. And, you have to love that the Raiders finally have a duo in that sense that knows each other that well. Sure, all of their time spent together hasn’t been in Las Vegas, but the two are both trying to accomplish the same thing.
They need that in Las Vegas, where they will go against some very impressive QB-HC duos like those the Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, and Los Angeles Chargers have.
Only time will tell how it goes.