Pete Carroll predicts Geno Smith will rebound, surprise with Jets

FLORHAM PARK, NJ – Former NFL coach Pete Carroll, who developed a close relationship with Geno Smith during their six seasons together, was a little amused when he first learned that his former quarterback had been traded to the New York Jets.

“I had to laugh a little bit because of the story and everything,” Carroll told ESPN on Wednesday in his first interview since being fired by the Las Vegas Raiders after the season.

Carroll spoke glowingly about Smith, predicting he would bounce back from last season and surprise people in his second stint with the Jets, who acquired him Tuesday via a late-round pick swap. Carroll took responsibility for Smith’s struggles in Las Vegas, saying, “We should have coached him better.”

The former Super Bowl champion coach has kept a low profile since his ill-fated 3-14 season with the Raiders, but he broke his silence because of his affinity for Smith, he said.

“I love talking about G,” Carroll said. “I think I see him differently than a lot of people. I love him and I appreciate him differently.”

Carroll, who coached Smith with the Seattle Seahawks from 2019-2023, traded for Smith in 2025, hoping to recreate what they had in Seattle. That went sideways, as Smith led the league in interceptions (17) and sacks (55). It was a tumultuous season, as Carroll fired offensive coordinator Chip Kelly after 11 games.

“He’s a phenomenal quarterback, he really is,” Carroll said. “He had a fantastic offseason and preseason with us, and he came out in the first game, had a great first game. Everything was perfect. It was exactly the right time for us. Then we faltered and faltered. We didn’t do well enough, as a coach.

“We should have prepared him better for the things that happened, and this wouldn’t have happened,” he continued. “I take a lot of responsibility for that. We didn’t prepare him well enough in the offseason, even though he looked great and we felt like everything was in place. It was very, very disappointing for both of us.”

Smith passed for 362 yards in a Week 1 win over the New England Patriots, but his interceptions mounted and the team went on a four-game losing streak.

“He got off to such a miserable start, and it wasn’t just him,” Carroll said. “It was all of that. We just didn’t work well at first, and he got behind the ball early on. Everyone wanted to blame him, and he took it and took it and took it, and then they captured him – a trade or whatever. He just wasn’t able to reap the benefits of our relationship.”

Carroll was referring to a late-season incident in which Smith knocked over Raiders fans as he left the field after a loss. Smith later apologized.

Carroll said he was confident Smith would be what he was in Seattle, where he passed for more than 4,200 yards in two of his three seasons as a starter. But the Raiders’ pass protection was poor, forcing Smith to make poor decisions. Carroll said the offensive line wasn’t good enough. (Ironically, the Jets agreed to a contract Wednesday with one of the Raiders’ former linemen, guard Dylan Parham.)

“We were killed, we were killed,” Carroll said. “Our offensive guys up front, over the last two years, we’ve been murdered. We needed to improve that more than we have. It didn’t happen in the draft, and it didn’t happen in the offseason.

“We didn’t go there in the offseason. We had to buy a new line to give guys a chance to at least be more competitive. The only reason you get sacked so much is because you’re trying to throw too much. The whole thing didn’t really work and that’s why you saw a change and all that.”

The Jets, looking for a new starter, traded a 2026 sixth-round pick for Smith and a 2026 seventh-round pick — a deal that became official Wednesday at 4 p.m. Smith, 35, admitted he didn’t play well in Las Vegas. He offered no excuses. The positive, he said, was Carroll.

“This man is special – a Hall of Fame coach and a Hall of Fame person, through and through,” Smith told Josina Anderson Tuesday on Exhibit News Network. “I wanted to win a Super Bowl for him because that’s how much he means to me. It didn’t work out the way we thought it would.”

Carroll said he “fell in love” with Smith during Smith’s three seasons as Russell Wilson’s backup, citing his work ethic and competitiveness. Smith now returns to the team that drafted him in 2013. He started 29 games for the Jets in 2013 and 2014 before losing his job to Ryan Fitzpatrick due to a broken jaw sustained during a locker room argument with a teammate.

“If he had understood [New York] “It was a good place for him and he wanted to do it, and he was part of the decision, so I couldn’t support him more,” Carroll said. “If he saw the reasoning and felt the support and the opportunity, I couldn’t be more supportive. I love the guy and I want the best for him. He deserves it. He’s worked really hard to get where he is.”