SEATTLE — Maybe that long list of Seahawks is made up of some of the world's most talented actors. Perhaps they're smiling on the podium and grimacing in private.

But I've always felt sincerity when players would come to Seattle and rave about the culture — how it was unlike anything they'd experienced before. They looked motivated and content.

That was Pete Carroll's doing.

According to reports, Pete Carroll was hired as the Raiders coach Friday. He comes to an organization that went 4-13 last season and has made the playoffs just twice since 2002.

Coaches still need players to succeed. The personnel between the lines are always more important than the ones on the sideline or in the booth. But this seems like a good hire. The Raiders needed a jolt, and Carroll is a living, breathing jumper cable.

Some might say age is a concern. Pete was the oldest coach in the league when he was let go, and will be 74 in September. I'm not going to sit here and say the number of trips he's made around the sun has no chance of factoring into his performance. Age can take speed off your fastball mentally and physically. But Carroll does not project old. He is 73 going on 25 in terms of energy, and he was as sharp in his farewell news conference as he was during his Super Bowl runs.

I remember talking to a Los Angeles-based reporter about 10 years back, when legendary Dodgers play-by-play man Vin Scully was in his mid-80s.

Has he slowed down a little bit? I asked.

"No," he said. And one listen to a broadcast confirmed this.

In short: Age can be an impediment — but it's not a sure thing for a man in his 70s.

Even so, this isn't necessarily a 10-year plan for the Raiders. The question is whether hiring Carroll puts them in a better position now than they were before. And considering Las Vegas hasn't had a winning season since 2021, it's hard to think that this doesn't.

Pete's résumé might have gotten him in the Hall of Fame if he never coached again. He won a Super Bowl, got to a second, and captured five NFC West titles. A defensive specialist — particularly with the secondary — he oversaw one of the most dominant back ends in NFL history. And even when his teams struggled, it was more like "struggled."

Carroll — who also built USC into the top program in college football — went 9-8 in each of his final two years with the Seahawks. His 7-10 season in 2021 came when Russell Wilson missed three games because of injury and was clearly hampered for another three. He went 10-6, 9-7 and 8-8 during his three years with the Patriots. And though he went 6-10 in his sole year coaching the Jets, that team went 3-13 and 1-15 in the two years after he was fired.

Still, past triumphs don't necessarily translate to future success. Jon Gruden is a Super Bowl-winning coach with five division titles as well. He failed to notch a winning record when he returned to the Raiders for three seasons after 10 years off. Larry Brown won everywhere he went until he got to the Knicks and went 23-59.

Pete's age doesn't appear to be slowing him down cognitively, but there is an argument to be made that the game has passed him by. The Seahawks defense was atrocious in his final three years. They were 28th in total defense in 2021, 26th in 2022 and 30th in 2023.

But last year with Mike Macdonald at the helm? They ranked 14th.

Perhaps the schedule played a role in this. Maybe new personnel along with the best season of Leonard Williams' career contributed. That defensive jump was noticeable and seemed to temporarily justify the coaching change. Still, that's a blemish on Carroll's résumé — not a black mark.

Despite their unstable nature of late, despite their reputation for chaos, the Raiders are still one of the more storied franchises in NFL history. What they haven't done is leave much of a mark in Las Vegas since moving there in 2020. Carroll seems like a perfect fit for that town. The City of Lights with its 10,000-watt coach.

You won't see a prediction for how Las Vegas does under Carroll in this piece. There are way too many factors and moving parts to know.

The Raiders still need players. But Pete feels like the man who's gonna get the most out of them.

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