It’s been three days since it was announced that Ben Johnson will be the next head coach of the Chicago Bears, and with that decision the Raiders lost the top head coaching candidate on their list.
”My family and I, we are beyond excited,” Johnson said to a building of clapping Bears’ employees on his first day in Chicago. “This is exactly where we wanted to be. This is exactly where we want to be.”
It was an interesting comment from Johnson considering his known interest in the Raiders.
There still aren’t a lot of details around what happened between the Raiders and Johnson, but we know it caught the decision makers in Las Vegas a little off guard. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vinny Bonsignore, the situation was looking optimistic for Johnson and the Raiders until Monday.
“As time went on, the Raiders became a viable option for [Johnson] and I think that there was a lean toward the Raiders there for a little while. Ultimately, he decided to go with the more established in-place quarterback situation, and that’s his right,” Bonsignore said on Raider Nation Radio’s JT the Brick Show. “There’s no hard feelings. I think it caught the Raiders by surprise a little bit, but there’s no panic or anything like that. And that basically is what ultimately happened.”
There might not be panic in Las Vegas, but after three days it seems the Raiders don’t have a clear no. 2 option in waiting. Peter Carroll has been dangled as a front runner for the job, but the team must have reservations about him if they aren’t going to make a decision before the end of the week.
As for the storyline that Johnson suddenly woke up and realized Caleb Williams was the quarterback in Chicago, it seems a little naive to think his decision changed on Sunday night over a detail that didn’t change at any point in the process.
Whatever was told to the Raiders by Johnson’s camp made them believe he was going to Las Vegas. It wasn’t just Bonsignore reporting that. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said agents and other coaching candidates believed Johnson was going to the Raiders.
It hasn’t been talked about a lot, but on Monday morning, Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter said there were still a few details up in the air around the GM situation Johnson wanted in Las Vegas. It looked like the one hurdle that maybe had not been ironed out and then suddenly the announcement came that Johnson was going to the Bears.
It could have all been coincidental, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if down the road we learn there were a few more details around what pushed Johnson to Chicago.
x: @raidersbeat
Brady making decisions cost the Raiders Johnson.
Hope he enjoys Vegas with his college buddy he hired as GM.
The Raiders need to deal with reality. Their head coaching job is viewed as a stepping stone job for a youngster or hiring a retread. If the Raiders identify their next head coach, make him an offer and a deadline to accept or reject their offer. If they wanted Johnson, make an offer and a very short timeline to accept or reject. Johnson played the Raiders like a fiddle in a cheap suit.
Truth is – It Is A Good Thing. I said it before – Just Because a Coordinator is the Shiny New Toy Does NOT mean that he will be a Successful Head Coach. Only about 1/3 of Coordinator 1st Time HC’s last more than 3 Years… Similar To !st Round QB Picks!!!! I hope that this Team does the right thing for Once and get an Experienced HC who LOVES FOOTBALL!!!!
This coaching search is looking like a lot of our games last season. Everything’s clicking along, Tommy Boy’s reeling in Johnson, the dream boat of offense, the Insiders is telling us the Nation is back. Until that gut punch, like an interception return of 99 yards in Denver, Johnson chooses Chicago, and now the team is dazed and confused.