When the Las Vegas Raiders fired head coach Pete Carroll at the onset of the 2026 NFL offseason, owner Mark Davis released a statement about the move. In that same statement, Davis also made it abundantly clear who was in charge of the football operation.
"Moving forward, General Manager John Spytek will lead all football operations in close collaboration with Tom Brady, including the search for the club's next head coach. Together, they will guide football decisions with a shared focus on leadership, culture, and alignment with the organization's long-term vision and goals."
That delineation of duties seemed incredibly cut-and-dry at the time, as it appeared that the two were set to work together on all things Raiders, especially the head coach search. But as the coaching cycle has dragged on, the fanbase has formed more questions than they have received answers.
Tom Pelissero says HC candidates are confused by Tom Brady's role with Raiders
The Raiders interviewed Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady for the second time on Sunday evening, giving credence to the fact that he's a serious candidate for the job. And yet, fans wondered how that could be possible with Tom Brady announcing the NFC Championship Game simultaneously.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero spoke on The Rich Eisen Show on Monday, and he updated the NFL world about the Raiders' head coaching search. He began with the same paradox we just discussed about Tom Brady's absence from a second round of interviews in Las Vegas.
"I was thinking two things here, Rich: One, Tom Brady is watching Klint Kubak call an absolute masterpiece for the Seahawks. Two, wait, Tom Brady is there and Joe Brady is interviewing for the Raiders head coaching job on the same day," Pelissero said. "This is the odd part of this multi-faceted role that Tom Brady has is there's parts of the process that he's been really involved in. There's other parts, like this current round of interviews, that it sounds like he's not involved in."
Tom Brady not being involved in the search is a bit disastrous for the Silver and Black. One, he was reported to be a part of it, so that is what Raider Nation, and prospective head coaches, believed. Two, Brady is supposed to help Las Vegas with big fish hunting, and his absence could affect that.
Pelissero did note that Kubiak will likely take a second interview with the Raiders after the Super Bowl, but he also corroborated reports that Kubiak may not want a head coach job in this cycle. Pelissero mentioned, in conjunction with that, that candidates are confused about Las Vegas' process.
"You've got Tom Brady who, ostensibly, is running the football operation along with John Spytek. That's directly a quote from owner Mark Davis. And yet, people come out of those interviews just going, 'Who exactly is running the building? What exactly are we? What am I looking at here? Tom lives in Miami. How is he co-running the football operations from 2,000 miles away?' And in a really tough division, where you're going up against Sean Payton, Andy Reid and Jim Harbaugh."
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Now, that is a major, major problem. The Cleveland Browns have been dragged for their rigorous and toxic head coaching search over the last few days, but if the Raiders really aren't being clear about who is involved, or they don't have an idea themselves, then it is no better.
Just to twist the knife, Pelissero talked about the remaining head coaching vacancies, and he just doesn't believe that Las Vegas is a good spot. He mentioned why Buffalo is the best job left, and his last sentence is quite intimidating.
"Certainly, the fact they've got Josh Allen, that makes it a really, really intriguing job," Pelissero said. "And I would think that if any of these candidates are in a mix for multiple jobs, Buffalo is going to get the one they want."
Candidates of note for both jobs are Denver Broncos quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Davis Webb, former New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll, Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady, and Kubiak, the Seattle Seahawks' offensive coordinator.
Raider Nation could live without Daboll or Joe Brady, but if Kubiak returns to Seattle and Webb chooses Buffalo, where does Las Vegas pivot to? They lost out on Mike McDaniel and nobody else seems to be in the running, so it could very well be some combination of Daboll and Joe Brady.
Tom Brady's role with the Silver and Black is supposed to prevent the organization from having to settle on things like quarterback and head coach. While the former will be figured out in the draft, Pelissero makes it sound like the Raiders' minority owner isn't doing them any favors for the latter.