According to Peter Schrager, the possibility of the Raiders hiring Lions OC Ben Johnson has been “picking up way more steam in league circles over last 48 hours.”
This fits with recent reporting from Ian Rapoport, who mentioned that Johnson is a name to watch for the head coaching vacancy in Las Vegas.
Raiders minority owner and former NFL QB Tom Brady is reported to be “enamored” with Johnson and personally vouched for him.
Many expected Johnson to prioritize a team with a quarterback in place and while that’s still a possible outcome, Brady’s presence in the process has clearly improved the odds of Johnson ending up in Las Vegas.
Beyond that, the Raiders somewhat surprisingly fired GM Tom Telesco after one season, which opened the door for them to hire a preferred GM candidate in order to attract a top head coach like Johnson.
Johnson is still in the running for the Jaguars, Patriots and Bears vacancies, but there appears to be enough smoke about him ending up in Las Vegas right now that it’s worth keeping an on in the days to come.
Johnson, 38, started his coaching career with Boston College in 2009 as a graduate assistant. From there, Johnson coached tight ends for the 2011 season.
The Dolphins hired Johnson in 2012 as an offensive assistant and he was later promoted to assistant quarterbacks coach in 2013.
Johnson coached tight ends and wide receivers with the Dolphins until 2019 before the Lions hired him as a quality control coach. He coached tight ends for the Lions in 2020 and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2022.
In 2024, the Lions offense ranked No. 1 in yards per game and No. 1 in points per game, including No. 2 in passing yards per game and No. 6 in rushing yards per game.
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