Once the 2024 season ended for the Las Vegas Raiders, it was very hard not to feel down about the franchise. They fired their second head coach in two years and appeared to have no direction.
However, something seems to have changed in a major way. When Tom Brady became a part owner of the franchise, it wasn't clear what his role would be. Would he be more of a figurehead or would he actually be involved in football operations?
Well, it looks like we got our answer. The Raiders are Brady's team and the early signs are pointing to that being a very good thing. Just a week ago, Raiders fans couldn't have fathomed that names like Ben Johnson would even interview for the job. Now Las Vegas is gaining real steam as a possible landing spot for Johnson, per Fox Sports Peter Schrager.
Not only that, but Deion Sanders reached out to the Raiders about their head coaching job recently, per Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Plus, Super Bowl champion coach Pete Carroll appears interested in the job.
So why are all of these top candidates interested in the Raiders? That's a complicated question but it starts with Brady. Mark Davis is known as a nice guy and an owner who doesn't meddle. However, he's impatient and continuously makes the wrong hires.
Brady brings stability and vision to a franchise that hasn't had a real vision in decades. Another reason why coaches should want this job is that the roster isn't nearly as bad as many in the national media would want you to believe.
Brock Bowers the best tight end in the NFL, Kolton Miller is a very good left tackle, Jackson Powers-Johnson has star written all over him, Maxx Crosby is a top-five pass rusher, Christian Wilkins is an elite defensive tackle and there are plenty of other young pieces on this roster who should appeal to coaches.
The biggest issue is the lack of a quarterback but that could also appeal to some coaches. The Raiders aren't tied to anybody and whoever the next coach is can pick who they want to lead the offense going forward. Sure, you'd rather have Justin Herbert than nobody but Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Trevor Lawrence haven't proven that they're elite quarterbacks yet.
The only thing worse than not having a quarterback is having the wrong one and committing to them. The Raiders have legit options for once and may finally find the right head coach to lead the franchise after getting it wrong so many times.