For the first time in a long time, it feels like the Las Vegas Raiders have a vision for the franchise. Owner Mark Davis clearly cares about the team a lot but they haven't won a single playoff game in over a decade since he took over ownership.
The 2024 season was possibly the worst season yet since he became owner. Sure, there were some really bad Dennis Allen years and Jon Gruden's first year was a disaster but the Raiders just felt completely hopeless this season.
What a difference a few weeks make. It remains to be seen if the Raiders can land a top head coaching candidate like former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll or Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, but they are at least in the mix, which is already an improvement.
But what's the reason for this newfound excitement? Two words: Tom Brady. The legendary quarterback officially became a part owner of the franchise last year and it's clear that his fingerprints are all over this Raiders offseason.
According to Mike Sando of The Athletic, people around the NFL weren't buying what the Raiders were doing but now that Brady seems to have a strong voice in the building, things are looking up.
"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."
Now, Brady hasn't actually pulled anything off yet. If the Raiders miss out on top coaches and end up with an uninspiring re-tread like Robert Saleh, then all of this hype was for no reason. However, Brady might just be the man to save Las Vegas from complete football irrelevancy.