The Las Vegas Raiders seem to have circled Ben Johnson as their next head coach.
While the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator cannot officially sign a contract until his team’s season ends, it is widely believed he will sign with the Raiders shortly after.
The Raiders were never seriously considered for Johnson at the start of the offseason, with most outlets believing there were far superior job openings. However, just weeks in, and Johnson is the leading candidate to land in Las Vegas.
According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the Raiders are now prepared to spend a large sum of money to ensure Johnson signs on the dotted line.
“Most recently, we’ve caught wind of a rumor that the Raiders have made a “massive” contract offer to Johnson,” Florio wrote. “While it’s premature for offers to officially be made, given that they’ve yet to conduct a face-to-face interview with Johnson, the talk is out there that a big number is unofficially out there.”
The Raiders signing Johnson to a massive deal would be risky. Despite his limitless potential, he will still be a first-time head coach if he accepts the Raiders’ proposal. Add to it the fact the Raiders are currently paying five buyouts between former head coaches (Jon Gruden, Josh McDaniels, Antonio Pierce) and general managers (Dave Ziegler, Tom Telesco), and there is risk for another major financials setback if Johnson does not pan out.
The idea of a huge payday, outside of the ‘bad team’ overpay, is a sign that the Raiders believe in Johnson’s vision for the team.
However, the Raiders might develop bad blood with other teams if they offer Johnson a big contract.
“A “massive” deal also would ruffle feathers among the other owners, some of whom are obsessed with staving off a bidding wars for coaches, where there’s no salary cap and no franchise tag and the market could easily go haywire,” continued Florio.
The owners can be upset but, if Johnson is everything the Raiders and NFL analysts fancy him as, they will be the ones laughing at the end.
Three offensive coordinator candidates for Ben Johnson in Las Vegas
