Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is a coveted candidate during another head-coaching cycle, with four interviews this past week and plenty of opportunities after Detroit finishes its postseason.
And while the coaching world can invite all sorts of craziness, sources say there is one particular team to keep an eye on for Johnson: the Las Vegas Raiders.
He has quickly emerged as the candidate to watch for Las Vegas, as the Raiders — in a search that prominently includes limited partner Tom Brady — are willing to wait as long as it takes to secure their potential future head coach. Jed Hughes of the firm Korn Ferry is assisting with that search, according to me and NFL Network Insider Mike Garafolo.
Las Vegas is said to be enamored with Johnson, sources say.
Johnson spoke to the Raiders virtually on Friday, and he’s also had virtual meetings with the New England Patriots, Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars. Many around the league wondered if he would interview with the Raiders, considering their recent disarray.
They cleaned house again this past week, firing head coach Antonio Pierce on Tuesday and general manager Tom Telesco on Thursday after one season, a year after doing the same to coach Josh McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler. With a roster not at competition-level and in desperate need of a quarterback, Las Vegas is a build, not a fixer-upper.
Yet thanks in part to the involvement of Brady, who sources say personally vouched for Johnson and implored him to take the interview through his agent, Johnson spoke with them. Essentially, Brady recruited Johnson to interview.
And based on Johnson’s work on the field as one of the NFL’s top coordinators, plus his experience alongside Dan Campbell helping building the Lions from the ground up into the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs, Johnson is considered to be an ideal match.
Johnson is said to have kept an open mind and is still weighing which options he likes and which he would take given the opportunity. He likely will have other options, as well.
Asked about head-coaching jobs during the season, Johnson said generally, “There’s a burning desire in every man to find what he’s made out of, push the limits and see if he’s got what it takes. So, yeah, there’s a fire there. Now, when that time is, I don’t know when that’ll be, but there’s certainly a fire there.”
The Raiders loom as a fascinating one, again in part because of Brady, who became a limited partner this past October. He has been quietly researching coaching candidates for some time, speaking with his old coach Bill Belichick, per NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero, and using his time pregame on the field to pick the brains of some of the game’s best. For instance, Brady called the Lions-Packers game in Week 9 for FOX Sports, which featured two of Las Vegas’ candidates (Johnson and Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn).
Raiders owner Mark Davis, speaking at the conclusion of the December League Meeting in Irving, Texas, was effusive about how he views Brady’s role.
“Obviously, I talk to him all of the time and his input is greatly valued and will always be valued,” Davis told a small group of reporters at the time. “We’ll see as time goes on how his role evolves in here. … I want Tom to have a huge voice. It’s part of building the infrastructure of the organization, which is something that we didn’t have — a football person on that side of it, not a coach or a general manager, but somebody who can oversee the whole picture. I believe Tom, in time, will be the person who can do that.”
That time appears to be now. In fact, Brady was influential in the decision to fire Pierce and Telesco, seeking alignment from him to the GM to the coach.
Now, with a clean slate and the blessing of Davis, he’ll have the chance to do it. And Johnson may figure prominently.
