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Tom Brady dedicated over two decades to a singular mission: becoming the greatest quarterback in league history. He achieved that dream. Today, in his post-playing career, Brady has explored various pursuits. He serves as a broadcaster for a major network. He's involved in construction projects in the UK. He has promoted digital assets. He's expanding the NFL to the Middle East. He operates a popular YouTube channel. He replicated his family pet. Brady's retirement activities appear either eclectic or unfocused, depending on your perspective.

Secondary ventures are one thing. But overseeing a NFL team is not a casual commitment. In addition to his various responsibilities, Brady also serves as the unofficial decision-maker for the Raiders, presently the most hapless team in the NFL.

The Raiders dropped to 2–9 on Sunday after enduring a decisive loss to the Browns. The Raiders didn't just get defeated; they were humiliated by a struggling team with a QB making his first NFL start. The Raiders' offensive unit averaged 2.9 yards per play before garbage-time action in the fourth quarter. Their quarterback was tackled 10 times and was pressured 46 times, a season record for any team this season. On the defensive side, Las Vegas allowed significant gains to a Cleveland offense that has been dysfunctional for most of the campaign. However you analyze it, it was a thorough domination. Fortunately Brady didn't have to watch. The primary decision-maker of this current situation was sitting 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 leading the team's personnel choices, becoming a minority owner of the franchise in 2024. But he was responsible for every major decision last summer, and all of them has proven unsuccessful. Those decisions have resulted in the Raiders as the most unwatchable and aimless franchise in the NFL.

This wasn't expected to be a multi-year rebuild. The Raiders didn't hire 74-year-old Pete Carroll, among a select group to win both a Super Bowl and a college national championship, to oversee a protracted process back up the standings. He was supposed to return the team to competitiveness and then hand them off with a stable base in place. Conversely, Carroll is facing the prospect of being one-and-done in Vegas, and the Raiders are looking at another reboot.

Franchise Dysfunction

This isn't all Brady's fault, naturally. The majority owner is still the majority owner. Davis has cycled through head coaches and front-office heads at a rate that would make even the Jets blush. The Raiders are on their seventh coach and fifth general manager in 15 years, a instability that has erased any coherent long-term vision. Still, it's Brady's fingerprints that are evident throughout this version of the Raiders. "This is the Brady's project," league reporter a prominent journalist commented last summer. "He's been integrally involved," Carroll said of Brady at his introductory news conference in January. "This is his chance to put his stamp on a team."

Brady was responsible for the crucial appointments and set the Raiders on this rudderless course. He hired a close associate, his college buddy and co-worker in Tampa, to serve as general manager. He greenlit a team strategy to Carroll's preference, including trading a third-round pick for Smith and selecting a running back No 6 overall despite having a bottom-tier offensive line. He recruited an offensive innovator away from the NCAA, making him the highest-paid OC in the league. And he signed off on handing a flaky blocking unit – the bedrock for that coach and running back – to Carroll's son.

Disastrous Outcomes

It's been a complete failure. The previous year's Raiders were a four-win team, but they were scrappy and competitive. This year's Raiders are a disorganized situation. Carroll has installed an old-fashioned defensive scheme, Smith looks past his prime and the Raiders' blocking unit has submarined any aspirations for Ashton Jeanty and the ground attack. If nothing else, Carroll was supposed to bring energy. But the Raiders were uninspired on Sunday, counting down the snaps to the conclusion of the game.

The contrast with Cleveland was stark. The situation often seems dire with the Browns, but there are embers of hope. Myles Garrett, now just five quarterback takedowns away from the NFL single-season record, leads a formidable defense. And there is optimism around the stellar-looking rookie class that includes multiple promising talents – a dynamic runner at RB and Carson Schwesinger at LB. There is also the rookie QB, who may not be the permanent solution at QB, but who is a viable option in the immediate future.

Admittedly, it was against the Raiders' defense, but Sanders showed that the NFL level was not too big for him. With a full week to get ready, he was effective, taking what the opposition gave him and showing flashes of creativity. Sanders became the first Browns rookie quarterback to win his debut game since 1995.

Absence of Vision

Sanders and the rest of the Browns' first-year players symbolize promise. That's a mirror the Raiders don't want to look into. Good organizations understand their situation in the ecosystem: you're either a championship candidate, a competitive squad, or undergoing reconstruction. Vegas began the season thinking they were a few adjustments away from competitiveness. Despite the clear indications to the contrary, they haven't pivoted during the season. Like Cleveland, Vegas should be playing rookies to discover what they have for the coming years. But only two rookies have seen real playing time. There has apparently already been tension between the coaches and the front office regarding the limited playing time for two young blockers, despite the offensive line being a sieve. Rookie receivers Jack Bech and Dont'e Thornton Jr have totaled nine receptions in eleven contests, despite the lack of spark in the passing game. Carroll continues to roll out experienced veterans on the defensive side over young players in need of reps.

Unclear Direction

What is the path forward? Will the coach return or the GM or Smith? And who actually makes those decisions, Brady or Davis? How can a franchise function when its primary influencer participates sporadically, approves franchise-altering moves, and then disappears on other projects?

It will prove a struggle for the Raiders to improve – and they are in a conference filled with perennial playoff contenders. Meanwhile, other rebuilders have paths. The Jets are loaded with future draft picks. The Titans and Giants have promising young quarterbacks. The Raiders have little to build upon. No foundation. No franchise QB. No identity. No strategic vision.

The single factor more problematic than being bad in the NFL is not recognizing you're underperforming. The Raiders don't know where they are, what they are building, or who will make decisions in the summer.

Tom Brady once excelled at football through intense dedication. The Raiders could benefit from more than limited attention of it.