Officially, the Raiders aren’t even a week into their search for a new head coach, but according to Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter, the decision-makers in the building know what they want, and presumably that means they know who they want.
“I’m hearing from people in the NFL, and I believe this, the Raiders know where they want this to end,” Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast. “They are casting a wide net to get a lot of free evaluations of their franchise, but they know where they want this to end.”
Hondo didn’t say specifically who the Raiders want, but every indication in the last 48 hours is that they have their sights set on Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to be their next head coach.
When it comes to coaching rumors and reported interest from prospective teams and coaches, it can be hard to separate fact from fiction because agents many times pump narratives into the news cycle that aren’t fully accurate.
But in the case of the Raiders and Johnson, it feels like there have been enough indicators in the last two days to assume he is the team’s top target to replace Antonio Pierce.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Johnson’s interview with the Raiders went extremely well on Friday and there is a real possibility he could end up in Las Vegas.
“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,” Rapoport reported on Saturday. “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… Las Vegas is said to be enamored with Johnson, sources say.”
Rapoport later said that Tom Brady spent an additional hour with Johnson’s agent trying to “recruit” the Lions offensive coordinator to Las Vegas.
”The presence of Tom Brady has loomed incredibly large,” Rapoport reported on Saturday. “Brady actually spent about an hour with his agent just talking things over, essentially recruiting Ben Johnson, giving him an idea of what Las Vegas would be like. My understanding is the organization is enamored with Ben Johnson.”
One detail to remember as the process plays out is that a year ago Johnson was considered the heavy favorite to land the Washington Commanders head coaching job before apparently changing his mind at the 11th hour because he wasn’t fully convinced of the direction the organization was headed.
Johnson is just 38 years old, and has been clear that he wants to be patient and find the right situation for his first head coaching job in the NFL.
Nevertheless, it sounds like the Raiders have at least identified who they want. It sounds like that person is Johnson and if that’s the case, will the Raiders new-look ownership group be able to do what it takes to close the deal?
x: @raidersbeat
This is How we Got Joke McClown as Our Coach… and Remember Brady Endorsed him!!!! Set back the Franchise another 5 – 10 Years!!!
I’d rather se Carrol with Johnson as an OC asst. HC title with him learning under a guy that is an ideal teacher in every sense of the word. It brings as much stability and respect into every room.
Just sure Johnson has that kind of mentality.