John Spytek taking an 'open-minded' approach to head coach search and offseason moves

Following his first season as an NFL general manager, John Spytek took centerstage Monday as he begins shaping one of the Raiders' most pivotal offseasons in years.

After a season of injuries, coaching staff changes and growing pains that resulted in a 10-game losing streak and a 3-14 record, the team announced that Pete Carroll was relieved of his duties.

"He was a great partner," Spytek said of Carroll. "In my first year in this job, he worked tirelessly to give Raider Nation the team and the outcomes and the results that they wanted and deserve. He was a wonderful person to deal with, for me, personally, on a day-to-day basis, and I'm just very grateful to have had the opportunity to work with him, a great coach like him, for a year. And this organization, the ownership, myself, wish him nothing but the best in the future. We're truly grateful for his efforts.

Spytek didn't shy away from what went wrong and took ownership of many of the season's shortcomings, but with that chapter now closed, he's shifting his focus to what comes next.

"This isn't on any one person, and really, I don't want anyone to think that anyone deserves more responsibility than me and that it's something I'm very aware of," he said. "I think about all the time and am determined to get right. The accountability should start and stop with me, and that needs to be said."

The Raiders enter their coaching search armed with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. This is the first time the team has held a pick this high since 2007, when they drafted quarterback JaMarcus Russell. The need for Spytek to hit in the draft is obvious toward reconstructing the team. It's worth noting that seven of the 14 playoff teams this season have starting quarterbacks that were selected No. 3 or higher in the NFL Draft.

"We never want to be in the spot again," the general manager said. "I never thought I would be in the spot, but we've got to be real with where we're at. We have to understand the opportunity that we have in front of us. Our focus and our vision is on everything going forward now."

Spytek recognizes that linking a cohesive 2026 draft class with the right coaching staff will be crucial. When asked what he's looking for when in the interview process, he was clear about his intentions to hire someone who will embrace the future with an inevitable rebuild in the works.

"I've always kind of thought that you're never as good in this league as you think you are, and you're never as far away as you think you are. We're just going to go open-minded," he said. "The work has begun upstairs this afternoon, and I've got to get back up here in a little bit and keep going. But we're going to prioritize. Whoever's the best coach for the Las Vegas Raiders is who we're going to hire. And we're not beginning with the end in mind. We want a meticulous build that will set us up for years of success in the future, and we have a great opportunity to do that with everything that we have in front of us right now."

Everything won't fall solely on Spytek as he's tasked with building up the roster. He'll work hand and hand with owner Mark Davis as well as minority owner Tom Brady. The Raiders GM and Brady have a documented relationship dating back to being college teammates at Michigan, and won a Super Bowl together at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"We see football similar," Spytek said on his relationship with Brady. We don't see it the same. We have plenty of discussions and disagreements, and I'm not afraid to tell him that. I think that's kind of why he likes me. But I do believe that we see things similar, and we've both had a lot of success seeing it that way, and I think we know what we're after, and it's up to us now to go find it."

"I've been here a year now, I've got to know MD [Mark Davis], ownership," he added. "I know what the expectations are. I've got to know the building, I think, really well, and we've got a plan in place, and we're going to start working on it. The goal is constant, meticulous improvement so that this organization and the Raider Nation can be proud when they walk into Allegiant Stadium."