Ben

Johnson

The Jaguars have interviewed eight head coach candidates thus far and the two Lions coordinators appear to hold the top two spots on the ownership’s wish list. While Glenn is considered a highly sought-after coach in his own right, it stands to reason that Johnson is the organization’s top choice.

Schefter also said that he thinks both Johnson and Jerry Jones have “other ideas” for this offseason’s hiring cycle. Schefter then refocused the conversation on the Raiders and Bears, saying “I know everybody’s got Ben Johnson anointed to the Raiders... I’m not in that camp right now. Why is everybody ignoring Chicago?” Schefter carefully added that Johnson could still end up as the Raiders’ new head coach but highlighted the AFC West’s highly competitive nature and the Raiders’ undesirable quarterback situation. The NFC North is certainly not a soft division but the Bears do have the requisite skill position players to hit the ground running in 2025.

Schultz allows that Vikings DC Brian Flores could get into the mix with a strong interview, but that would go as strongly as possible against Caleb Williams’ stated desire for an offensive-minded head coach. It would also be, frankly, not smart considering Flores’ checkered history with Tua Tagovailoa and the Bears’ entire near future being staked on Williams’ arm. This has to be a play-calling head coach, and Johnson and McCarthy are both qualified in their own way. Johnson, of course, would be vastly preferable to McCarthy, even if you can make the case McCarthy has somehow ended up a bit underrated for his work in Dallas and Green Bay.

NFL Network reported last week that the Raiders have become “enamored” of Johnson, who has turned the Jared Goff-led Lions into one of the most efficient offenses in the NFL over the past couple years. Fox Sports announcer Tom Brady, who is also part owner of the Raiders, has reportedly been deeply involved in the Raiders’ head coaching search after Vegas parted ways with Antonio Pierce after a disappointing 2024 season. Johnson has been careful with his head coaching opportunities, so it’s far from a sure thing he’ll take the Vegas job.

Johnson has now completed interviews with the Patriots, Raiders and Bears. The 38-year-old offensive coordinator is also set to meet with the Jaguars Saturday. Johnson has been heavily linked to the Raiders of late, though it’s also been reported that he covets a quarterback, something the Raiders don’t have. He’s the sixth different candidate the Bears have interviewed so far joining Mike Vrabel, Anthony Weaver, Mike Kafka, Pete Carroll and Drew Petzing.

Schrager’s tweet comes on the heels of an Ian Rapoport article linking Johnson to the Raiders. The Raiders job comes with obvious drawbacks as Las Vegas is without a quarterback and in the same division as Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert, though the team could be willing to pay top dollar for the Lions offensive coordinator. With the 38-year-old Johnson still set to interview with the Jaguars and Bears Saturday, these links to the Raiders could be setting up a leverage play for the Detroit coach who sat out the last two hiring cycles despite being one of the top candidates. It’s still possible that Johnson is actually interested in Tom Brady’s vision for the Raiders’ future, which could include Johnson having some say on who their next general manager would be.

Johnson, who interviewed with the Raiders virtually Friday, has quickly emerged as the candidate to watch for Las Vegas, according to Rapoport. While the Raiders job has some obvious drawbacks such as a difficult division and no long-term solution at quarterback, there are some benefits that might appeal to Johnson, who ultimately decided to sit out the past two coaching cycles. Las Vegas cleaned house and will have alignment from limited partner Tom Brady, who appears to be running the show, to the general manager and head coach. That alignment is said to be important to Johnson, though other teams he’s meeting with like the Bears and Jaguars haven’t made those front office changes. According to Rapoport, the Raiders are also willing to wait for Johnson’s playoff run with the Lions to conclude if it means securing the Detroit play caller as their future head coach. Brady both lobbied internally to make Johnson a priority in the Raiders coaching search and implored Johnson to take the interview through his agent.

Russini notes that Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson interviewed well with New England, but that the Lions play caller still plans to meet with other teams. At the same time, the Patriots are pushing to complete their search for a coach in a timely fashion, meaning they aren’t likely to wait for Johnson’s playoff run with the Lions to conclude before making a decision. Many around the league expect a decision this weekend, according to Russini. All signs point to Vrabel, the former Patriots linebacker, to be the choice.

The 4-13 Raiders closed the 2024 regular season on a two-win streak, pushing their 2025 NFL draft spot down to the sixth overall pick. With no long-term quarterback options in-house, the Raiders must now convince Johnson that they are willing to somehow acquire their quarterback of the future despite their self-sabotaging, late-season competitiveness. Securing an interview with the highly coveted offensive coordinator is at least one positive step toward turning this franchise around. Players like Brock Bowers, Jakobi Meyers and an above-average offensive line could at least provide Johnson with offensive building blocks.

Requested by at this point, the Patriots, Bears, and Jaguars, Johnson seems to be this cycle’s 1 or 1A head coach prospect outside of Mike Vrabel. Johnson is notably not interviewing with the Jets, something that makes sense once you realize he has pulled out of several interviews with unstable ownership situations. Johnson would certainly be a major step towards restoring the sheen to Trevor Lawrence’s career, but given how careful he has been, he might ask the Jaguars to part ways with GM Trent Baalke as part of any agreement. To this point, that’s something Shad Khan has been unwilling to do.