[Florio speculates about] Raiders and Ben Johnson as HC

[SHOWTIME]

AFC West has to be the division with the best coaches, right? Andy, Harbaugh, Payton, and now potentially a gifted player caller in Ben Johnson...

There’s currently no other destination that fits. Johnson has interviewed with the Raiders, Bears, Jaguars, and Patriots. The alignment he wants doesn’t exist in Jacksonville, and likely isn’t in play with the Bears. Unless the Cowboys (who blew their window to interview Johnson at any time before the Lions’ season ends because they didn’t interview him via Zoom last week) make a late run, it’s the Raiders or the status quo for Johnson.

More and more people in league circles believe it will be the Raiders.

For the past six days, talk has been intensifying that the Raiders will hire Ben Johnson. At this point, it's looking like Vegas or the status quo for the Lions offensive coordinator. https://t.co/RBrAAyH38Q

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) January 15, 2025

[tredadda]

If I am a hot HC candidate, especially looking at my first job I don’t think going to an AFCW team is a smart move right now. Brady ain’t putting on a uniform, so his influence should not factor into the decision.

[Hammock Parties]

We'll be calling him Ben Dover in a few months.

[wazu]

Follows the recent trend of top coaching candidates signing up to get their asses kicked by the Chiefs in the AFC West every year. Don't understand it, but it keeps happening. Unlike Harbaugh and Payton who at least can stand on solid resumes, the shine will wear off of Ben Johnson once that obvious reality sets in.

[scho63]

The Bears ownership is WORSE than the Raiders. The Raiders have just made a lot of bad decisions on players from shitty GMs

[Basileus777]

Originally Posted by wazu

Follows the recent trend of top coaching candidates signing up to get their asses kicked by the Chiefs in the AFC West every year. Don't understand it, but it keeps happening. Unlike Harbaugh and Payton who at least can stand on solid resumes, the shine will wear off of Ben Johnson once that obvious reality sets in.

Because coaches don't take jobs based on the division the team is, it's about ownership, money, and control.

[jdubya]

I could be wrong and likely I am wrong but the feeling I get is that Mark Davis has had an epiphany and realizes what he has been doing doesnt work. I think he has handed the reigns over to Tom Brady and Brady is building something for the long term. I wasn't surprised AP was fired but when Telesco was fired a day or two later, that got my attention that somebody else is running the show with a full blown clean slate. The quality of coaches and GMs being interviewed or scheduled to be interviewed right now are of the quality that I haven't seen associated with the Raiders in decades.

Will things improve? Who knows? But there is a different vibe right now that this is different from previous off seasons.

[Easy 6]

Chicago makes me wanna puke if they're not smart enough to go get him at any cost... yeah go ahead and settle for McCarthy and see where that gets you

[ToxSocks]

I'd bet the Raiders are offering significantly more $$ than the next highest bidder. That's the only way the hottest HC name on the market goes to the ****ing Raiders.

[Bl00dyBizkitz]

Brady is definitely running the show now.

I suppose the allure for Johnson is he has his pick of a GM and QB, he'd be walking into a clean slate where he has total control, rather than walking into a situation like the Bears where the culture is incredibly volatile and the relationship with ownership is probably not great.

Obviously the downside is entering the AFC West, but most every HC situation has a major downside.

[wazu]

Originally Posted by Basileus777

Because coaches don't take jobs based on the division the team is, it's about ownership, money, and control.

Okay. As long as it isn't about winning.

[DrunkBassGuitar]

I can see why he'd take the job, there's only so many openings and he'd get more freedom to pick his QB and Brady is a legendary player (even if there's no evidence that translates to running a team) and you don't get to where he is without an ego big enough to convince you that you'll succeed even somewhere as dysfunctional as the raiders

[Arch Stanton]

"While it’s premature for offers to officially be made, given that they’ve yet to conduct a face-to-face interview with Johnson, the talk is out there that a big number is unofficially out there."

Brady cheatin, and the league doin nothin about it, gives the story the ring of truth.

[Pablo]

So we can definitely strike the “genius” label from ol Benjamin can’t we?

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by pugsnotdrugs19

And if he does it after waiting years for the right job, he’s a ****ing clown

What’s that say about your head coach if he just gawks over Tom Brady and that makes his career choices for him

This is so true.

I get not wanting to work for a total clown, but you don't need Brady to get that. And here's the thing-- Brady might actually end up being the clown you were trying to avoid. The best owners (majority or minority) are proactive but never meddlesome. They stay out of the way, give a "I'd like to thank the fans" speech on occasion, and let the people they hired do their damn jobs. At his best, Brady would do that. At his worst, Brady might see things differently than the GM they end up hiring and could overrule him even though he has zero experience in scouting or player personnel.

So if his best is just staying out of most of the runnings of the team, why is it so important for a coach to work for him?

[TwistedChief]

Gonna go out on a limb and say this report is probably nonsense. He had the opportunity to find a job last offseason but stayed with Detroit in the interest of timing his depature and ultimate destination perfectly.

It would seem antithetical to go to the Raiders only because Brady is a part owner and you have no established QB on the roster nor an easy and clear path to getting one.

He deserves and can achieve more than the Raiders. I don't buy it.