The Las Vegas Raiders have Pete Carroll as their next head coach but they almost went in a very different direction. Many rumors had the team linked to former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
Some reports even suggested that the Raiders were the favorite to land the coach. However, there appears to be more to the story. According to Johnson’s agent Rick Smith, Las Vegas was considered but they were never the favorite.
“Initial gut reaction Day 1 on the Raiders was ‘No go. Okay?” Smith said on the Jan. 26 episode of
“2nd City Gridiron.” “Tom Brady absolutely has an extremely compelling case that gets you to listen. The whole thing ‘Ben to the Raiders … great sources’ and all the other stuff, that was never right.”
While Johnson never had the Raiders as his favorite team, Smith didn’t want to leak that out as it only helped the coach in the long run.
“Sometimes, going back to my job, things go viral that you’re like ‘I got to put a break on this’ and sometimes things go viral like ‘No, this is good. I like this’ and that viral thing [about the Raiders] was ‘I like this. Let’s just leave that out there,'” Smith added.
Johnson ended up joining the Chicago Bears, which led the Raiders to pivot to Carroll. While Las Vegas was disappointed not to land the young coach, they may end up better off.
Did Raiders End up With Better Coach?
Carroll is not a bad consolation prize for the Raiders. He has 11 playoff wins in his career and a Super Bowl championship. Johnson could be a great head coach but he has never been the man in charge at any level of football.
Longtime radio host Dan Patrick thinks the Raiders are actually better off with Carroll than they would’ve been with Johnson.
“I think it’s a great hire. When the Bears were looking at him, you said I could have Pete Carroll or Ben Johnson, I said I would take Pete Carroll,” Patrick said on the Jan. 24 episode of the “Dan Patrick Show.” “I’ve seen him do this. I don’t know if Ben can do it. I know that everybody talks glowingly about [him]. I want somebody who is a proven commodity. I don’t know if there is a downside to [Carroll]. He’s got the energy of a 32-year-old.”
The only reason why the Raiders could temper their excitement about adding Carroll is his age. He’s 73 and will be the oldest head coach in NFL history during the 2025 season.
Even if he’s wildly successful, the Raiders can’t expect to get too many years out of him. If Johnson is a hit, the Bears could have their head coach set for the next 20 years. It’s hard to see the Raiders getting more than five or six years out of Carroll.
That said, if those five or six years turn the franchise around, it would be a home run hire. The Raiders haven’t won a playoff game since 2002 and Carroll would get a ton of credit if he can just get the franchise over that hump.
