New York Jets Geno Smith is primed for Jets resurgence— just ask Pete Carroll By Ryan Dunleavy Published Sep. 4, 2026, 8:27 p.m. ET Geno Smith of the Las Vegas Raiders and head coach Pete Carroll walk the field prior to a game against the Dallas Cowboys at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Nov. 17, 2025. Getty Images As the head coach who has spent the most time with Geno Smith, Pete Carroll agrees with everyone inside the Jets organization who thinks the down-trending quarterback is primed for a 14th-season resurgence.
There’s one understated key to making the marriage work, though. And it runs counter to the picture that many Jets teammates have painted this preseason of Smith, 35, as the great “calming” influence in the huddle.
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“He is just as fiery as you can get,” Carroll, a former Jets head coach and Smith’s head coach with the Seahawks from 2019-23 and last year with the Raiders, told The Post. “Sometimes he has run into some problems because his competitiveness gets the best of him, and he has to chill out so he can get back to balance. For the most part, with us, that was never a problem. But it was a concern. Geno knew it, I knew it, and he handled it really well.”
Carroll “fell in love” with Smith’s work ethic as a three-year backup in Seattle and turned to him to succeed Russell Wilson as the Seahawks starter in 2022.
