HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Pete Carroll was excited because, well, he's Pete Carroll.
He was in the Raiders' media room Tuesday answering reporters' coaches, but much of his mind was on a team meeting just more than an hour away.
“I can't wait to kick this thing off and get rolling,” Carroll said.
This is familiar territory for Carroll, something he missed after a year off from coaching. Now in Las Vegas, he will try to revive a Raiders franchise still striving to return to its former glory before it came to a sudden halt after appearing in the Super Bowl in the 2002 season.
That effort begins in earnest Wednesday morning when the Raiders open training camp, and Carroll isn't lowering the bar for a team coming off a 4-13 season.
“We are going to win a bunch of games,” Carroll said. “I can’t even imagine anything else. I’ve been winning 10 games a year for 20 years or something. I mean, what are my expectations? We are going to win a bunch, and I don’t care who hears that.
"It ain’t about what anybody hears. It’s about what we do, and so that’s why expectations are really high. The standards need to be so that the expectations can be met. We’ll see what happens.”
Carroll hopes to follow the gameplan he took to Seattle in 2010. The Seahawks finished 7-9 in each of Carroll’s first two seasons before recording double-digit wins eight of the following nine years.
That run included back-to-back Super Bowl appearances — a 35-point rout of Denver and a memorable and heartbreaking oh-so-close loss to New England.
Before that, Carroll turned USC into one of the nation's dominant programs that included the 2003 and 2004 national championships, the first shared with LSU.
“You either have a philosophy or you don’t, and we got one," Carroll said. "We got beliefs and principles that guide us, so I’m not altering those much. I’m staying true to what we know and what’s been successful for us.”
Part of Carroll's confidence can be traced to last year when he was off the sidelines after the Seahawks forced him out.
“The last year was really valuable to me,” Carroll said. “The perspective that you have when you’re in the middle of it is different than when you can step away. The opportunity for clarity ... was so obvious to me, so I saw things differently, and I felt like I learned a lot of things and took in a lot and have altered my expectations of what we’re able to do and how we need to go about getting better and doing things more proficiently in all areas.”
He could be enjoying retirement, but jumped at the chance to coach again when the Raiders called. Carroll turns 74 on Sept. 15, and the NFL’s oldest active coach doesn't look ready to slow down.
A 1 p.m. team meeting isn't something just to get through, but in typical Carroll fashion to attack with gusto.
“We’ve got to find ourselves,” Carroll said. "We got to figure out who we are, and that needs to be guided well. So it starts with me, and then the coordinators through the position coaches have to do a tremendous job of figuring out what they can bring us with the players that we have. It’s a big process. It might sound kind of loosey goosey on that thought, but this is a specific science to me.
"It’s a fascinating process, it really is. I’m really pumped about getting in the middle of it.”
The Raiders signed safety Jamal Adams, who played in five games and started three last season with Tennessee and Detroit. He made first- or second-team AP All-Pro from 2018-20. Adams has started 83 of 85 career games, making 50 tackles, 21 1/2 sacks, 50 tackles for loss, four interceptions and 36 passes defended.
Four others also signed — wide receiver Phillip Dorsett II, guard Atonio Mafi, wide receiver Seth Williams and safety JT Woods.
Carroll said he didn't know when defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, placed on the physically unable to perform list because of a difficult recovery from a broken foot, will return to practice. He can be activated at any time in preseason off the PUP list once medically cleared.
“We have to sort of wait out,” Carroll said.
Defensive end Malcolm Koonce is back after missing all of last season because of a torn ACL.
“We’re going to look after him, make sure that we do it right and breaking him in, but he’s ready to go,” Carroll said.
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FILE - Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll looks on during an NFL football practice, June 4, 2025, in Henderson, Nev. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
CLEVELAND (AP) — Keyonte George scored 32 points, Lauri Markkanen added 28 and the Utah Jazz bounced back after a 55-point loss and defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 123-112 Monday night.
George had 16 points during the third quarter, when Utah rallied from a 10-point deficit and regained control and began its five-game road trip with a victory. George also was 12 of 12 at the free throw line and had nine assists.
The win was the Jazz’s second in their past eight games and came two nights after a 150-95 loss to the Charlotte Hornets, the second-largest by scoring margin in franchise history and the biggest since they moved from New Orleans in 1979.
Markkanen, 10th in the league in scoring at 27.8 points per game, also had 12 rebounds. Jusuf Nurkik, who missed the last two games due to a toe injury, had 11 points and 17 rebounds.
Darius Garland led Cleveland with 23 points and Donovan Mitchell scored 21. The Cavaliers have dropped two of three.
PACERS 98, CELTICS 96
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Pascal Siakam scored 21 points, including the decisive 7-foot bank shot with 6.1 seconds remaining, and Indiana won three straight games for the first time this season, beating Boston.
Boston’s Derrick White missed a go-ahead 3-point attempt in the final seconds. He had tied the game at 96-all on a driving layup with 28.6 seconds remaining.
Siakam pump-faked and stepped inside the foul line for the high-arcing leaner that banked through in the final seconds. He also had eight rebounds and six assists.
The Pacers began the night with the NBA’s worst record but improved to 9-31, one-half game better than the New Orleans Pelicans. They were without forward Bennedict Mathurin (17.8 points per game), sidelined by a thumb injury for a fifth consecutive game.
Jay Huff had 20 points, including four 3-pointers, for the Pacers.
Payton Pritchard led the Celtics with 23 points and eight assists. White had 18 points and Anfernee Simons 16.
76ERS 115, RAPTORS 102
TORONTO (AP) — Tyrese Maxey scored 33 points, Joel Embiid had 27 and Philadelphia used an 80-point first half to beat Toronto.
VJ Edgecombe and Paul George each scored 15 points as the 76ers bounced back from Sunday’s overtime loss to Toronto to win for the sixth time in eight games.
Embiid (left knee and left groin) and George (left knee) were back in the lineup after sitting out Sunday.
Fans chanted “We want Lowry!” in the fourth quarter, then rose for a standing ovation when former Raptors player Kyle Lowry checked in for Maxey with 1:57 left to play.
Lowry starred for the Toronto team that won the 2019 NBA championship. He airballed a 3-pointer on his first attempt and missed all three shots he took.
Immanuel Quickley scored 18 points and Brandon Ingram had 17 points and 10 rebounds. Scottie Barnes scored 15 points for Toronto.
MAVERICKS 113, NETS 105
DALLAS (AP) — Cooper Flagg scored 27 points and matched a season high with three steals, and Naji Marshall had three straight baskets down the stretch and finished with 22 points as Dallas beat Brooklyn.
The Mavericks (15-25) snapped a two-game skid. Klay Thompson scored 18 off the bench and matched a season high with six 3-pointers.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 28 points and Day’Ron Sharpe had 14 points and 12 rebounds off the bench for the Nets (11-26), who have lost four consecutive games. They were swept in a road back-to-back, losing 103-98 at Memphis on Sunday.
KINGS 124, LAKERS 112
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) —Malik Monk made seven 3-pointers and scored 26 points to help Sacramento Kings to a win over Los Angeles.
DeMar DeRozan had 32 points and six assists for the Kings (10-30), who won their second straight after a seven-game skid. Russell Westbrook, who played 78 games for the Lakers in 2023, added 22 points and seven assists.
It was the Kings’ first home win against the Lakers since March 13, 2024.
Luka Doncic paced the Lakers with 42 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. It was the seventh 40-point game of the season for the NBA’s leading scorer.
LeBron James had 22 points on 8-for-17 shooting that included missing all five attempts from 3-point distance.
DeAndre Ayton scored 13 points to reach 7,000 for his career. Jaxson Hayes added 12 points for the Lakers (23-11), who have lost two straight since winning three in a row.
CLIPPERS 117, HORNETS 109
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored 35 points and James Harden had 32 to move into ninth place on the NBA’s career scoring list, and the Los Angeles Clippers beat Charlotte for their fourth win in five games.
Jordan Miller added 14 points and Ivica Zubac had nine points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers.
LaMelo Ball had 25 points and nine rebounds to lead the Hornets in their third loss in four games. Kon Knueppel scored 18 points, Moussa Diabaté had 13 points and 15 rebounds, Brandon Miller also scored 13 and Miles Bridges 11.
Cleveland Cavaliers center Evan Mobley (4) blocks a shot by Utah Jazz forward Kyle Filipowski (22) in the second half of an NBA basketball game in Cleveland, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
