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Tom Brady committed 23 NFL seasons to a unwavering mission: becoming the greatest quarterback in league history. He achieved that dream. Today, in retirement, Brady has explored various endeavors. He serves as a broadcaster for a major network. He's involved in construction projects in the UK. He has endorsed digital assets. He's expanding American football to Saudi Arabia. He maintains a successful YouTube channel. He even cloned his family pet. Brady's post-career activities appear either eclectic or aimless, based on your viewpoint.

Secondary ventures are understandable. But overseeing a NFL team is hardly a casual commitment. Alongside his various responsibilities, Brady functions as the unofficial football leader for the Raiders, currently the most hapless team in the NFL.

The Raiders dropped 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 embarrassed by a underperforming team with a QB making his professional debut. The Raiders' offensive unit averaged 2.9 yards per play before meaningless plays in the fourth quarter. Their quarterback was sacked 10 times and faced pressure 46 times, a single-game high for any team this year. On defense, Las Vegas surrendered significant gains to a Cleveland offensive unit that has been dysfunctional for the majority of the season. However you analyze it, it was a thorough domination. At least Brady didn't have to witness it. The primary decision-maker of this current situation was working in Dallas on the Fox broadcast for another game.

A Series of Dubious Choices

To be fair to Brady, he has only spent one season guiding the team's football decisions, after becoming a minority owner of the organization in 2024. But he was accountable for every major decision last summer, and each one has backfired. Those decisions have left the Raiders as the least entertaining and aimless franchise in the league.

This wasn't expected to be a lengthy reconstruction. The Raiders didn't appoint 74-year-old Pete Carroll, one of only three coaches to win both a championship and a NCAA title, to oversee a long slog back up the league table. He was expected to return 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.

Organizational Dysfunction

This isn't all Brady's fault, of course. Mark Davis is still the controlling stakeholder. Davis has churned through coaches and executives at a speed that would make even the New York Jets blush. The Raiders are on their seventh head coach and fifth GM in 15 years, a turnover rate that has erased any clear strategic direction. Nevertheless, it's Brady's influence that are all over this iteration of the Raiders. "This is the Brady's project," league reporter a prominent journalist commented last offseason. "He's been integrally involved," Carroll said of Brady at his introductory news conference in January. "This is his chance to leave his mark on a franchise."

Brady made the key hires and set the Raiders on this rudderless course. He appointed John Spytek, his former teammate and colleague in Tampa, to act as general manager. He approved a roster plan to the coach's specifications, including trading a third-round pick for Geno Smith and selecting a running back No 6 overall despite having a poor-performing O-line. He lured an offensive innovator away from the college ranks, making him the top-earning offensive coordinator in the league. And he approved handing a flaky blocking unit – the bedrock for that coach and ball carrier – to the coach's family member.

Disastrous Outcomes

It's been a disaster. Last season's Raiders were a team with limited success, but they were scrappy and resilient. The current Raiders are a disorganized situation. Carroll has implemented an old-fashioned defensive philosophy, Smith looks past his prime and the Raiders' offensive line has submarined any aspirations for Ashton Jeanty and the run game. If nothing else, Carroll was supposed to bring enthusiasm. But the Raiders were uninspired on Sunday, counting down the snaps 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 league all-time mark, leads a formidable defense. And there is positive outlook around the impressive first-year players that includes multiple promising talents – Quinshon Judkins at RB and Carson Schwesinger at LB. There is also Shedeur Sanders, who may not be The Answer at quarterback, but who is a viable option in the immediate future.

Admittedly, it was against the Raiders' defense, but Sanders demonstrated that the stage was not too big for him. With a full week to prepare, he was effective, accepting what the defense gave him and showing flashes of improvisation. Sanders became the first Browns rookie quarterback to win his first start since 1995.

Lack of Vision

Sanders and the rest of the Browns' rookie class represent promise. That's a reflection the Raiders should avoid. Successful franchises understand their situation in the ecosystem: you're either a contender, a frisky playoff team, or rebuilding. Vegas began the season believing they were a few adjustments away from competitiveness. In spite of the overwhelming evidence otherwise, they haven't pivoted midstream. Like Cleveland, Vegas should be playing young players to find out what they have for the coming years. But only two first-year players have seen real playing time. There has apparently already been tension between the coaching staff and the management regarding the limited playing time for two rookie offensive linemen, despite the o-line being a weak point. 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 experienced veterans on defense over young players in need of reps.

Unclear Future

Where is the future direction? Will the coach return or Spytek or Smith? And who actually makes those choices, Brady or Davis? How can a team operate when its most powerful decision-maker participates sporadically, signs off major organizational decisions, and then vanishes on other projects?

It's going to be a challenge for the Raiders to improve – and they are in a conference stacked with consistently successful teams. Meanwhile, other reconstructing teams have paths. The New York Jets are stocked with upcoming selections. The Titans and Giants have talented young QBs. The Raiders have little to build upon. No core. No franchise QB. No identity. No strategic vision.

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

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