Las Vegas Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders are expected to heavily pursue Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to fill the team's head coaching vacancy, according to CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones.

"The Raiders are going to make a big push in the coming days to land Ben Johnson," Jones said on Sunday.

"Johnson's going to decide tonight and into tomorrow when and where he's going to interview," he added.

Johnson, one of the top candidates in the current hiring cycle, is now available to take a head coaching job after the Lions suffered a 45-31 loss to the Washington Commanders in the divisional round of the playoffs on Saturday night.

The Raiders fired head coach Antonio Pierce on Jan. 7 before parting ways with general manager Tom Telesco two days later.

As Las Vegas looks for a new coach, minority owner and former legendary quarterback Tom Brady has been part of the search.

Jones previously reported that Brady "has been doing all he can to woo Johnson" to the Raiders.

Detroit's offensive coordinator met with the Raiders virtually on Jan. 10, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. He also held virtual interviews with the Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Rapoport noted on Sunday that Las Vegas is "enamored with" Johnson and he's still considered to be the "favorite" for the team's vacancy. The Raiders are working to schedule an in-person meeting with him.

It's easy to see why Las Vegas has strong interest in Johnson, as the Lions went 15-2 during the regular season and owned the NFL's No. 1 scoring offense by averaging 33.2 points per game. Detroit also recorded 409.5 yards each week, the second-best mark in the league.

During the Lions' surprising postseason defeat on Saturday, they still crossed the 30-point threshold and averaged 7.7 yards per play.

As the Raiders attempt to bounce back from a 4-13 season, they're reportedly expected to intensify their pursuit of Johnson.

Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has been consistently connected to the head coach opening of the Las Vegas Raiders, which set the stage for a potential conflict of interest with Raiders minority owner Tom Brady broadcasting the Lions' playoff game Saturday for Fox.

The Hall of Famer handled it by never uttering Johnson's name.

Dan Shanoff of The Athletic noted Brady did not mention Johnson by name a single time during the broadcast. It stood in stark comparison to his comments about Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, but Fox danced around the issue throughout the coverage.

Brady's partner and play-by-play caller Kevin Burkhardt did mention Johnson at times, but the legendary quarterback didn't even do so during pregame coverage.

The approach came after Fox Sports president of programming and production Brad Zager shot down the notion of a conflict of interest when he told Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, "to me, the questioning of someone's integrity to say there is a conflict of interest is ridiculous and that's a shame."

Now that the Washington Commanders eliminated the Lions in Saturday's contest, attention turns to whether Johnson will be the head coach of the Raiders next season.

On Wednesday, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported, "there does seem to be an acknowledgement that Ben Johnson is the leading candidate, and there's a lot of people who think, frankly, he is getting it."

ESPN's Adam Schefter and ESPN's Jeremy Fowler also highlighted the relationship between Johnson and former Lions executive and current Commanders assistant general manager Lance Newmark when reporting Las Vegas was interviewing him for its G.M. position.

Brady is involved in the coaching search but appeared to avoid complicating matters with his approach to the Johnson situation during Saturday's broadcast.

Coincidentally, Shanoff called it his "best performance as a broadcaster" to date, underscoring the progress he has made in his first season holding the position with Fox.

His next task may be helping his current team land the offensive coordinator he didn't even mention Saturday.

The Washington Commanders and Detroit Lions treated NFL fans to a thrilling NFC Divisional Round game Saturday, and the Las Vegas Raiders are reportedly interested in someone who helped construct both rosters for their vacant general manager role.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the AFC West team plans to interview former Lions executive and current Commanders assistant general manager Lance Newmark on Sunday. The Las Vegas G.M. role is open after the club fired Tom Telesco earlier this month.

The Raiders are also in the market for a new head coach after firing Antonio Pierce, which makes Newmark's connection with Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson all the more notable:

Johnson and Detroit defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn are two of the top candidates during the ongoing coaching carousel, and Schefter also highlighted Newmark's relationship with the two potential future head coaches.

While hiring him as G.M. could give the team an inside lane in the Johnson sweepstakes in particular considering the Detroit O.C. has also been linked to the Chicago Bears, there is also something to be said about establishing immediate familiarity between the two positions.

This offseason is something of a reset for the Raiders, and hiring a new head coach and general manager will put them on the same timeline and inevitably link them together as their tenures progress. Having a relationship that is already established between Newmark and Johnson or Glenn should lead to even more chemistry as they build the roster.

Yet Las Vegas may have competition for Newmark as well.

The New York Jets completed an interview with him for their G.M. spot earlier this season, indicating he is a name on the radar of multiple teams around the league.

Fortunately for the Raiders, he is not their only candidate.

Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk reported the team will have second interviews with New York Giants assistant G.M. Brandon Brown and Los Angeles Chargers assistant G.M. Chad Alexander on Monday.

As for Newmark, he began his NFL career as a staff assistant on the San Diego Chargers before joining the Lions for a 26-year tenure that saw him climb within the organization from area scout to national scout to director of college scouting all the way to senior director of player personnel.

While Detroit saw its Super Bowl hopes come to an end Saturday, it still went 15-2 and earned the NFC's No. 1 seed and the first-round bye that comes with it. It also reached the NFC Championship Game last season.

The 2024 season was Newmark's first with the Commanders as the assistant general manager.

All Washington did was select Jayden Daniels with the No. 2 overall pick and go from a team that hadn't finished with a winning record since 2016 into a 12-5 playoff squad that is now just one win away from reaching the Super Bowl.

The future is bright in both Detroit and Washington, and the Raiders have clearly taken notice of the roster construction for both if they are interviewing Newmark.

Even though two of the top candidates for the Las Vegas Raiders head-coaching vacancy will be in the same building as Fox Sports' color commentator Tom Brady on Saturday, the NFL isn't adjusting any rules for a potential conflict of interest.

In an email to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said no new restrictions have been put on Brady.

"There have been no further restrictions this week," McCarthy wrote. "Tom will continue to adhere to the broadcast guidelines and also the anti-tampering and Rooney Rule policies."

Brady, who has a minority stake in the Raiders and will reportedly have a lot of influence on their coaching search, is on the call for Saturday's NFC Divisional Round playoff game between the Washington Commanders and Detroit Lions.

Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn have had virtual interviews with the Raiders, per The Athletic's Tashan Reed. Candidates who are currently employed by other teams will be allowed to start having in-person interviews on Jan. 20.

Johnson, in particular, seems to be very high on the Raiders' list. Florio reported on Wednesday that Johnson came away from his virtual interview with "positive feelings" about the Raiders and Brady.

Since Brady is part of the ownership group of an NFL team while he is working as a broadcaster, league rules state that he's not allowed to attend in-person or online production meetings, and isn't allowed access to team facilities, players or coaches.

Florio noted Brady is permitted to speak to coaches and/or players on the field before the game.

Despite some questions about a potential conflict of interest for Brady, Fox Sports president of programming and production Brad Zager told The Athletic's Andrew Marchand it's "ridiculous" to worry about it.

"To me, the questioning of someone's integrity to say there is a conflict of interest is ridiculous and that's a shame," Zager said.

While it can certainly be debated if that's the case, Brady is going to be in the booth for kickoff of the Commanders-Lions game on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.

The Las Vegas Raiders will interview Ron Rivera on Friday regarding the team's current head coaching vacancy, per NFL.com.

Rivera has 13 years of experience as a head coach, recently operating in the role for the Washington Commanders from 2020-23.

Las Vegas has its sights set on several candidates throughout the current hiring cycle, as NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported on Jan. 11 that the team interviewed Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and would be "willing to wait" for him to become available after the Lions' season came to a close.

As for Rivera, he ended his tenure on the Commanders with a 26-40-1 record. He was fired at the end of the 2023 season, as Washington finished last in the NFC East at 4-13.

The 63-year-old also operated as the Carolina Panthers' head coach from 2011 until the 2019 season, compiling a 76-63-1 record. The Panthers clinched four playoff berths under Rivera, making a Super Bowl 50 appearance.

Before he was a head coach, Rivera operated as a defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears from 2004-06 and the Chargers from 2008-10.

He's already interviewed with the Bears as well as the New York Jets regarding their respective head coaching openings during the current hiring cycle.

The Raiders fired head coach Antonio Pierce on Jan. 7 following a 4-13 season, as they failed to reach the playoffs for a third consecutive year. Las Vegas struggled on both sides of the ball, as its scoring defense ranked No. 26 in the NFL by allowing 25.5 points per game.

It may be difficult for Rivera to beat out Johnson for the role, as Rapoport noted on Jan. 11 that the Raiders are "said to be enamored with" the Lions offensive coordinator.

Still, he's an intriguing candidate if Las Vegas is looking for more consistency on the defensive side of the ball.

Las Vegas Raiders limited partner and Fox Sports NFL analyst Tom Brady will provide commentary for the Detroit Lions' NFC Divisional Round home game against the Washington Commanders on Saturday.

The Raiders are strongly in the mix for Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and have spoken with Detroit defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn as well. With that in mind, Brady's presence in Detroit has been noted by multiple outlets.

As far as any potential conflict of interest goes, though, Fox Sports president of programming and production Brad Zager isn't buying it.

"To me, the questioning of someone's integrity to say there is a conflict of interest is ridiculous and that's a shame," Zager told Andrew Marchand of The Athletic.

Brady's stake in the Raiders was approved last October. He began calling games for Fox Sports this season.

Brady is banned from attending pregame productions meetings with coaches or practices leading up to matchups, although the rest of his crew is permitted to do so, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk last October. He can also speak with coaches on his own, per David Rumsey of Front Office Sports.

Fox Sports wants to get out ahead of this conflict-of-interest narrative, though, per Marchand.

"Fox Sports is coming out of its Bill Belichick-ian press approach to talking about Brady's performance. Before Zager's comments, no Fox Sports executives have been made available for interviews all season. Neither have Brady, nor his partner Kevin Burkhardt.

"With Fox broadcasting this year's Super Bowl and with speculation about whether Brady will continue to honor his 10-year, $375 million contract, and his perceived Raiders conflicts, Fox and Brady's team are extinguishing narratives that they don't believe have merit."

Zager had more to say on the matter, mentioning former Ohio State quarterback Kirk Herbstreit's call of the Buckeyes vs. Notre Dame for the national championship Monday and Los Angeles Dodgers play-by-pay announcer Joe Davis calling the World Series for Fox last year, when the team he works for beat the New York Yankees in five games.

"Is there a conflict of interest Monday night when Kirk Herbstreit calls Ohio State in the national championship game?" Zager said. "Was there a conflict of interest of Joe Davis calling the Dodgers in the World Series?

"For somebody to say there's a conflict of interest in that Tom Brady can't go in a booth and call a Lions game because the possibility of a Raiders coaching search could include, maybe people from Detroit, maybe from Washington, maybe from any team — since they haven't hired anyone yet — is questioning his integrity. It's questioning his professionalism. I just don't understand it on any level."

Kickoff in Detroit is set for Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.

Tom Brady is working to repair the Las Vegas Raiders' lackluster reputation.

Mike Sando of The Athletic reported that, across the NFL, the perception of the Raiders is that they are a "floundering franchise" and that Brady is attempting to "bring vision and stability."

"Executives see the Raiders as a floundering franchise that pivots from one coach/philosophy to another every couple of years," Sando wrote. "They see new minority owner Tom Brady trying to bring vision and stability to the franchise. They also see Brady's credibility as a leading reason the Lions' Johnson might be considering Las Vegas after the team fired coach Antonio Pierce and first-year GM Tom Telesco."

The Raiders are coming off a 4-13 season and hold the No. 6 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The franchise has not qualified for the postseason since 2021 and the next head coach will be the sixth for the team since the 2020 season.

While the state of the franchise has been a bit dysfunctional, it is still a brand with a strong legacy, a new stadium with state-of-the-art facilities and a minority owner in Brady who has won more Super Bowl rings than any individual franchise in the NFL.

That should aid the coaching search and help the team get back to relevance on the NFL landscape.

A splashy hire like Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson would be a great start and solidifying the quarterback situation could help Las Vegas start its climb back into playoff contention.

Tom Brady's agent, Don Yee, told Ben Fischer of the Sports Business Journal on Thursday that his client intends to see out his 10-year, $375 million contract with Fox Sports despite his partial ownership of the Las Vegas Raiders.

"Tom has had a tremendous amount of fun working with Fox this year, and he's really excited about the future with Fox and his growth on their team," he said. "And this year was the first year of a long relationship."

Brady's dual role as a commentator and partial owner has created ample conflicts of interest, including the fact that he's on the Las Vegas coaching search committee that reportedly has targeted Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator Ben Johnson for its head-coaching vacancy. Brady, meanwhile, is broadcasting Saturday's matchup between the Lions and Washington Commanders.

Because he's a minority owner and seemingly would gain a competitive advantage by having inside access to the facilities and practices of other teams around the league during production meetings—which serve as crucial sources of information for broadcasters, providing them with key tidbits to sprinkle throughout a game—Brady isn't even allowed to enter another team's facilities. He also isn't allowed to criticize officials or players.

The result has been a spotty, at best, first season for Brady as a broadcaster, while the excellent Greg Olsen was demoted to Fox's second team. And if Brady wants to get even more involved in the ownership side of things with the Raiders, it wouldn't be shocking if he eventually abandoned the broadcast gig altogether.

For now, it appears he resigned to handle both roles. But it will remain a storyline in his post-playing career until—or if—he chooses to focus solely on one job.

The buzz surrounding Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as a head coaching candidate is growing louder ahead of the divisional round.

There is "a lot of momentum building" between Johnson and the Las Vegas Raiders' head coaching vacancy, according to Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review Journal.

Bonsignore has previously described Johnson and former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll as "favorites to land the job."

Johnson and the Lions are preparing to play the visiting Washington Commanders with a trip to the NFC Championship Game on the line Saturday.

Johnson's offense finished the 2024 season having averaged 409.5 total yards per game, good for second in the NFL. The unit also ranked second with 272.9 passing yards per game and sixth with 146.4 rushing yards per contest.

The Raiders offense found itself in the opposite position as neither Gardner Minshew II nor Aidan O'Connell panned out as a long-term option in 2024. Las Vegas finished the campaign ranked 27th in average total offensive yards per game and 32nd in average rushing yards.

Targeting a coordinator whose unit has ranked top-four in the NFL in total offense for three straight regular seasons makes sense as a replacement for former head coach Antonio Pierce.

Tom Brady could have an influence on which direction the Raiders ultimately take with the opening. The former quarterback is expected to "lead the charge" in the franchise's search for a new head coach, according to Bonsignore.

There is also the chance the Raiders could miss out on the coordinator who is reportedly in high demand this head coaching cycle. Johnson has also interviewed with the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

NBC Sports' Mike Florio recently reported Johnson will only consider going somewhere he can be "on the same page with the front office."

The Raiders have not yet hired a general manager. The opportunity to have a say in who the franchise selects to replace Tom Telesco could be making the position in Las Vegas look more attractive to Johnson.

Carroll also seems interested in the position, given that he spent "most of Monday afternoon" interviewing for the job in Las Vegas, per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders has indicated he is interested in the job opening, per Bonsignore, but the Raiders are not currently interested, per The Athletic's Vic Tafur and Tashan Reed.

As the Las Vegas Raiders continue their search for a new head coach, a candidate who has a history with new partial owner Tom Brady reportedly could have the inside track for the job.

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported that he's "heard that Tom Brady's respect for Steve Spagnuolo, having competed against him, could make the [Kansas City Chiefs' defensive coordinator] one to watch in Las Vegas."

Before arriving to Kansas City in 2019, Spagnuolo made a name for himself as defensive coordinator of the New York Giants when they toppled Brady and the undefeated New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII in 2007. Brady got his revenge in 2020 when he led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers past the Chiefs in Super Bowl LV, earning the legendary quarterback his seventh and final championship ring.

Brady, who purchased a five percent stake in the Raiders this season, will be hoping to usher in a new era in Las Vegas. Breer reported on Monday that his influence had already been felt when the team chose to part ways with first-year head coach Antonio Pierce.

"It's been well established that Brady wasn't wild about the way things operated with Antonio Pierce, which is one reason why Pierce isn't there anymore," Breer stated.

Despite Brady's affinity for Spagnuolo, it should be noted that his previous stints as a head coach didn't go very well. Spagnoulo was head coach of the St. Louis Rams from 2009 to 2011 and served as interim head coach of the Giants in 2017, compiling a career record of 11-41.