Las Vegas Raiders minority owner Tom Brady certainly made a huge push for the head coach candidate he wanted, though he ultimately came up short.
Dianna Russini of The Athletic offered some details about the Raiders’ pursuit of Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, and Brady was at the center of it. Russini reported that Brady spent “hours” on a Zoom call with Johnson last weekend, as Brady tried to sell Johnson on taking the Raiders job.
Johnson “strongly considered” the Raiders, but ultimately opted to take the Chicago Bears job instead.
Tom Brady and Ben Johnson spent hours on a zoom last weekend. He made a strong case and Johnson strongly considered making the move to Las Vegas. Chicago wins the Johnson sweepstakes.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) January 20, 2025
Previous reports indicated that Brady was pushing very hard for Johnson, to the point that the Raiders were viewed as the favorite to land the Lions assistant. In the end, it was the Bears that won the race, possibly helped by the fact that unlike the Raiders, Chicago has a long-term franchise quarterback in place already.
The Raiders will now have to pivot after their preferred option went elsewhere. There was talk that Brady might be able to lure another big name to Vegas, but that did not work out either.
