The Las Vegas Raiders are looking for their next head coach after firing Antonio Pierce after one season.
The Raiders have gone through several head coaching hires in recent years, and they are hoping the next hire will finally break the trend of short stays in Las Vegas for coaches.
Owner Mark Davis and Minority Owner Tom Brady are leading the charge. The latter is heavily involved in the coaching search, which could lead to finding the right candidate.
One candidate the Raiders have interviewed is Detroit Lions Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson, one of the most sought-after candidates in this cycle. Since taking over as the OC in Detroit in 2022, Johnson has led one of the best offenses in the NFL.
The Raiders hope Johnson can change their offensive misfortunes. It appears Brady is someone who wants that, too.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Raiders are ‘enamored’ with Johnson as a potential head coach.
On the Raiders’ interest in Johnson, Rapoport writes:
“They cleaned house again this past week, firing head coach Antonio Pierce on Tuesday and general manager Tom Telesco on Thursday after one season, a year after doing the same to coach Josh McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler. With a roster not at competition-level and in desperate need of a quarterback, Las Vegas is a build, not a fixer-upper.
Yet thanks in part to the involvement of Brady, who sources say personally vouched for Johnson and implored him to take the interview through his agent, Johnson spoke with them. Essentially, Brady recruited Johnson to interview.
And based on Johnson's work on the field as one of the NFL's top coordinators, plus his experience alongside Dan Campbell helping building the Lions from the ground up into the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs, Johnson is considered to be an ideal match.”
Could Johnson be the frontrunner for the Raiders job? It may be too early to tell, as the team has many candidates to evaluate, but he certainly has an appealing resume.
Johnson’s Lions led the league in scoring offense (33.2 points per game), rank second in the NFL in total offense (409.5 yards per game) and passing offense (263.2), sixth in rushing offense (146.4), and are third in offensive EPA per play (0.15).
It’s no secret the Raiders have struggled offensively in the last few seasons. Johnson is an efficient, fearless play-caller who could turn things around for the Silver and Black.
Johnson’s talents are in high demand, so the Raiders have to hope he wants to take the job among the other coaching vacancies.
