It came almost out of nowhere. Most people felt the Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars were the two teams to watch for Ben Johnson on the head coaching circuit. Both have young quarterbacks and need a proven offensive mind to help develop them. Johnson is the hottest name out there. Then, the Las Vegas Raiders dropped into the chat. Spearheaded by new part-owner Tom Brady, the buzz has picked up steadily over the past week that Johnson going there is a very real possibility.
People struggle to understand why. Las Vegas has a middling roster at best, sits in a stacked division with three other teams that just made the playoffs, and has no quarterback. What could draw Johnson's attention so instantly? It can't be just the Brady mystique. Sure enough, we've finally learned what it is. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk revealed the explanation is far simpler than people want to admit.
It's money.
Most recently, we’ve caught wind of a rumor that the Raiders have made a “massive” contract offer to Johnson. 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.
Whether it’s credible or not remains to be seen. Owner Mark Davis isn’t exactly in the upper echelon of cash-rich NFL owners. With recent buyouts to the likes of Jon Gruden, Josh McDaniels, Dave Ziegler, Antonio Pierce, and Telesco, piggy banks might need to be busted open to blow the entry-level curve on Johnson.
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.
Ben Johnson appears intent on chasing the biggest payday.
There is nothing wrong with that. Coaches are every bit as inclined to seek as much money as possible. Yet this revelation flies in the face of all that stuff mentioned about him wanting alignment and the best situation. Las Vegas has a vacant GM position, but they've yet to meet with anybody with ties to Johnson. Perhaps they wish to find somebody on their list who can mesh with the coach without finding a buddy. Whatever the case, money's clearly the driving force behind this.
This shouldn't be a surprise. Raiders owner Mark Davis has a significant track record of paying big money to head coaches. He handed Jon Gruden, who hadn't coached in over a decade, a 10-year deal for $100 million. Obviously, the guy doesn't mind throwing money around. How much could it be? Andy Reid is the highest-paid coach at $20 million per year. Mike McDonald in Seattle is the highest-paid first-time coach at $9 million per year. There are whispers Ben Johnson wanted at least $15 million, which is the same as Sean McVay.
Paying a first-time coach the same amount as a Super Bowl winner feels incredibly reckless, but the Raiders don't seem to care. Johnson seems inclined to take advantage.
