Pete Carroll: We'll lean on Tom Brady "as much as we possibly can" for his insights on QBs

The Raiders have a new head coach and a new General Manager.

Now they're set to team up to find the best option for the club at the game's most critical position.

In a joint introductory press conference for head coach Pete Carroll and G.M. John Spytek, both men noted Tom Brady's involvement when it comes to helping shape the team's new leadership group. But Carroll added that Brady will serve as a critical resource going forward as the Raiders look for a franchise quarterback.

"[I]t’s our missing to build this football team up around the quarterback position. This isn’t the only spot," Carroll said. "We happen to have the greatest of all time to help us, and to see clearly, and we’re going to lean on Tom as much as we possibly can for his insights because nobody has the insights that he has. He’s that unique.

"But the quarterback position is one of the positions on the team and we’ve got to make it all fit together well. I had pretty good success with my quarterbacks in the past — you can go all the way back to my college days — and they all turned out to be really extraordinary members of our club. There’s a way to embrace the challenge that the quarterback has from the rest of the football team as well. We need to support our guy. And we need to do what we can to make that work. It’s really about making a great football team around the quarterback position. Coach [Bill] Walsh taught me a long time ago that it’s the hardest position in professional sports to play, so we need to make it as easy as possible. And we’ll go about doing that by running the football, protecting him, taking care of the ball, playing great defense, and kicking the football when we want to kick it. So, there’s a lot that goes into this. But to think about how fortunate we are to have Tom Brady with us — it’s just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Spytek noted that being around Brady — who he called "the greatest player ever" — illustrated to him how a love of the game and a strong competitive desire helped develop his philosophy about what can make a good QB.

"He was never out of a fight," Spytek said. "He was willing to do things that the ordinary football player, person wasn’t willing to do.

"We’re going to turn over every stone to find that leader for this team, too. There’s just going to be certain requirements for the job. And it doesn’t necessarily take the strongest arm or the best thrower, it’s the guys who will push their teammates to a place that’s uncomfortable, that will give almost anything to win. That’s what the best ones do, and we’re going to find one of those."

Carroll noted that Brady was "integrally" involved in the hiring process and it sounds like, despite his day job as a broadcaster for Fox, he will be a significant part of how Spytek and Carroll will build the team moving forward.