The Las Vegas Raiders’ 2025 season has become a disaster, with no signs of improvement. Sitting at 2-8, they’ve matched their worst start since the franchise’s darkest days. But according to someone who knows this organization, former CEO Amy Trask, the problem isn’t just on the field. It’s lurking behind closed doors, pulling strings, and getting in the way of head coach Pete Carroll.

“Jim Gray has been working to orchestrate the purchase of an interest in the Raiders since Al [Davis] was alive and we were in the process of selling a minority interest in the team,” Trask explained on CBS Sports recently. “He finally orchestrated that purchase, and he is now involved in every aspect or almost every aspect of the organization, and this is having an impact on the organization. Not only off the field, but on the field.”

Appearing on CBS Sports HQ, in conversation with Jaclyn Deaugustino, Trask pointed the finger directly at Jim Gray, the Emmy-winning broadcaster who helped Tom Brady buy into the team. Gray now serves as the Raiders’ owner Mark Davis’ “primary advisor” and has his hands in every corner of the organization. According to Trask, this is messing with Pete Carroll’s plans.

Back when former owner Al Davis was alive, it was Amy Trask who shut down Gray’s attempts to broker a Raiders ownership deal. But now he’s finally got his shot through Brady and Mark Davis, and the influence is real. While Trask didn’t go into the exact details of how Gray is derailing the Raiders off the field, the on-field numbers tell a horror story.

In 2024, Las Vegas posted the fewest rushing yards in any four-game span since 1963, sitting at just 183 yards. Head coach Pete Carroll inherited what looked like a rebuild. Geno Smith at quarterback, Chip Kelly running the offense, and a first-round running back in Ashton Jeanty. And yet, the team ranks 30th in scoring at 15.5 points per game (as per Fox rankings). But it’s not all on Coach Carroll.

“Pete Carroll is a very good head coach. But the problems we’re seeing on the field are related to the problems that are rampant throughout the organization,” Trask further explained. “They’ve got to fix the off-field, behind-the-scenes issues in order to give Pete a chance to be his best, which he can be, and address the problems on the field.”

It would seem that Carroll can’t cook if Jim Gray’s influence keeps getting in the way.

As things stand, the Raiders currently hold the fifth pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. All of the moves this season (Carroll, Smith, Jeanty, the Maxx Crosby extension) were supposed to turn the franchise around. But so far, they haven’t moved the needle.

To be fair to Carroll, organizational chaos breeds on-field disaster. When too many voices scream in different directions, nobody hears the play call. All the while, Pete Carroll continues to face heat amid the 2025 season’s struggles.

Pete Carroll’s nightmare season

All legends have their down years. But this year with the Raiders is hitting on a whole different level.

Pete Carroll is 74 years old. He came to Vegas to prove he could still turn around a franchise. Instead, he’s staring down a potential 2-15 finish. Back with the Seattle Seahawks, he never won fewer than seven games. Now, he risks not even cracking three. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler believes Carroll might be one-and-done.

“At 74, he is in it to win now and to prove that he’s capable of turning around an organization. Those plans aren’t meshing,” Fowler noted. “So, a question of whether the Raiders should reset and continue the rebuild with another coach is worth asking.”

The Raiders have scored fewer than 10 points four times this season. Their offense ranks 29th on PFF grade league-wide. 

The coaching staff is already scapegoating players. They let Brock Bowers, their best offensive weapon at tight end, play through a PCL injury rather than protecting their investment.

Trask’s warning rings clear: fix the organizational dysfunction or watch another season vanish into thin air. Gray’s influence is getting in the way of Carroll’s autonomy. The Raiders now need to decide what direction they take before the rest of their 2025 season implodes into further heartbreak.