It's still early in the Las Vegas Raiders' head coaching search but the early favorite appears to be Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. Tom Brady loves the young coach and there's at least a little bit of mutual interest.
That said, Johnson is likely to get serious interest from the Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars. If he chooses one of those teams or decides to stay in Detroit, the Raiders need a backup plan set.
That could be former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll but there's another name that's being talked about who might be more realistic than people realize. The Raiders have interviewed Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and according to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, he has a real chance at getting the job.
"At this point, it’d feel like an upset if Detroit kept either of its coordinators," Breer wrote. "It’s a little less certain with Kansas City’s coordinators, though I heard that Tom Brady’s respect for Steve Spagnuolo, having competed against him, could make the Chiefs’ DC one to watch in Las Vegas."
Spagnuolo is one of the best defensive minds in the NFL and is a big reason why the Chiefs have three Super Bowl wins in five years. However, he's been a head coach before for the Rams and it was a disaster.
He has an 11-41 record as a head coach and his best season was 7-9. There's little reason to be excited about his prospects as a head coach again, especially for a team that doesn't have a quarterback.
Spagnuolo only seems like a realistic threat for the Raiders job if they strike out on Johnson and Carroll. Who knows? Perhaps he's learned a lot under Andy Reid, who is the best head coach in the NFL right now and one of the greatest ever. At the very least, the Raiders would be able to hurt the Chiefs in the process and gain a lot of intel on their operation.