A day ago, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was considered a long shot for the Raiders job and some wondered if he only took the Raiders interview out of respect for Tom Brady.
But according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Johnson’s interview with the Raiders went extremely well 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.”
It is notable that Rapoport didn’t call Johnson “a” candidate to watch for Raiders. Instead, he called Johnson “the” candidate to watch, and that adds some weight to his report.
Whatever took place in Friday’s interview, it must have gone well, and at some point, maybe we’ll get a more specific report on where the Raiders stand from Johnson’s perspective.
Safe to say, the presence of Brady has made the Raiders a contender for all the top coaching candidates as Mike Vrabel is still in the mix for the Raiders job, as well. Officially, Vrabel hasn’t interviewed with the Raiders, but that’s an insignificant detail at this stage in the hiring process because of his relationship with Brady.
It will be interesting to see if the conversations between Johnson, Vrabel, and the Raiders go anywhere because ESPN’s Adam Schefter, among others, still seem to view Pete Carroll as an extremely viable option in Las Vegas.
“Pete Carroll is expected to interview with the Las Vegas Raiders next week,” Schefter said. “I’m told he’s going to be a candidate in Las Vegas. Somebody to keep your eye on.”
Previously, the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vinny Bonsignore talked about Carroll like he might be the lead candidate for the Raiders job.
“A lot of momentum is building for Pete Carroll,” Bonsignore reported on X on Friday. “In many ways, he is exactly what they need right now. Likely with a protégée/successor that comes on board with him.”
Previously, Bonsignore called Carroll “the” name to watch for the Raiders (just like Rapoport has done now with Johnson), and Carroll’s resume fits the description of what the team is reportedly looking for in their next head coach.
Clearly, the Raiders have a lot of irons in the fire at the moment, but all signs right now are pointing to one of the three aforementioned candidates eventually getting the Raiders’ head coaching job.
x: @raidersbeat