Here are some early thoughts on what it all means:
Shouldn’t be a surprise:
Yes, there was a lot of media smoke that Johnson was the favorite to land in Las Vegas. But frankly that always sounded one sided. Yes, he was the top target of the Raiders and understandably so, but it’s pretty clear Johnson was focused on the Bears. He jumped on them on the very first day he was available to accept a job. The Raiders were, in reality, always a longshot in this sweepstakes despite the heavy speculation stating otherwise.
Quarterback is a big deal:
The Bears have Caleb Williams. The Raiders don’t have a clear path to their next quarterback. There’s the difference in Johnson’s decision. Quarterback is always a major factor for coaching decisions.
Don’t get too down on Tom Brady:
The Johnson-Raiders smoke was fueled by the presence of Raiders’ new part-time owner Tom Brady being part of the search committee. Yes, Brady’s presence was enough to get Johnson to talk to the Raiders, but not enough to get the hire finalized. Is this a failure by Brady? I don’t see it that way. I think maybe some observers overestimated Brady’s allure to coaching candidates is. After all, he is just a part owner.
What’s next?
There are seven other known candidates. They are former Seattle head coach Pete Carroll, Detroit defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, Baltimore offensive coordinator Todd Monken, former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh, Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Johnson and former Carolina Panthers and Washington Commanders coach Ron Rivera. The team could always interview other candidates as well. There has been media speculation Carroll, 73, may be the next top candidate. He has a big-time resume and is ready to coach again after sitting out last season.
Related
Raiders coaching/GM interview tracker
Offensive coach?
Monken is the only current candidate who is an offensive coach. That was a big draw to Johnson, maybe Monken could get interest. Remember, he coached Brock Bowers at Georgia.
Poor Tom Telesco:
The rumors in the coaching agent community is the Raiders fired Telesco after one season to make the job more appealing to a top coaching candidate like Jonson. It didn’t work.
How affects GM search?
The Raiders interviewed Lance Newmark on Sunday. he worked closely with Johnson in Detroit as well as Glenn. We will see if a GM-coach pairing is till possible. The current rumors are the leading candidate for the general manager job is Tampa Bay’s John Spytek, who has long ties to Brady. Perhaps that could put Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator Liam Coen in play.
