A dysfunctional offense has forced Pete Carroll’s hand, and his verdict on the Raiders’ new play-caller offers a glimpse of a much-needed change. The Las Vegas Raiders parted ways with offensive coordinator Chip Kelly after an 11-game stint. Replacing Kelly, HC Carroll promoted quarterback coach Greg Olson to the role, which has already led to a massive positive ahead of the game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

“It looked different. … Guys responded really well,” Pete Carroll said as reported by the Raiders’ digital reporter Levi Edwards.

The verdict came in after the first week of practice, with Greg Olson calling plays for the offense.

The Pete Carroll-led Raiders have been a disappointment this season under Chip Kelly, as the 30th-ranked scoring offense in PFF grades. NFL insider Tom Pelissero described the system as dysfunctional and criticized Kelly for messing up play calls.

“There are all kinds of different stories about just the dysfunction of the Raiders offense,” NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported on The Rich Eisen Show. “There were times I was told where Chip Kelly was repeatedly botching the play calls. … So Geno Smith was going to the line of scrimmage and saying, ‘This doesn’t look right.'”

The Raiders are hoping their mid-season reset with Greg Olson can mirror what the Pittsburgh Steelers pulled off after firing Matt Canada in 2023. Pittsburgh simplified the scheme, leaned into Kenny Pickett’s strengths, and immediately looked more confident and balanced. The offense did not suddenly become elite, but the energy shift was obvious on the field.

Now, Greg Olson has a massive task at hand, especially with the Chargers next on the schedule, who boast the 14th-best defense. But despite this high ranking, they have struggled with a middle-of-the-pack run defense, ranking 24th with 238 points allowed this season.

This is something Oslen can exploit, as his offenses have typically favored running the ball, involving the running backs and tight ends. This could also be good news for rookie RB Ashton Jeanty and Brock Bowers, who have shown potential this season and could benefit from a new style of offense. To add to the expectations, Olson recently spoke about his style ahead of the next clash.

Greg Olson speaks ahead of his first game as OC

With more than half of the season completed, Greg Olson doesn’t have a lot of time to make extensive changes. Carroll hopes his former Seattle Seahawks OC can make the right tweaks with just six games remaining and help salvage a dismal season so far.

Olson comes into the role with a similar belief, as he understands that making significant changes could further jeopardize the offense.

“At this point, there’s not a lot that you would change in terms of how we’re calling things, terminology-wise,” Olson said in the press conference ahead of the Week 13 Chargers clash.

He further highlighted the need to improve the efficiency of the Vegas offense through the remainder of the season.

“There are tweaks that you can make and certainly that we’re making to try and be more efficient,” Greg Olson added. “Because we haven’t been efficient enough.”

With the Raiders sitting at the bottom of the AFC West, Oslen and Pete Carroll will want their team to maximize their chances and aim to pull off a few upsets as they face tough competition in the Denver Broncos and the Philadelphia Eagles after the game against the Bolts.