Is the Raiders coaching job undesirable?

It’s back to square 1 for Las Vegas as the Ben Johnson domino falls

Not even the allure of Tom Brady was enough — apparently.

The Las Vegas Raiders coach search continues as former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, the candidate the team highly coveted and sought, chose the Chicago Bears.

It’s on to Plan B for the Silver & Black and revisiting candidates they’ve either interviewed or requested and potential new asks and one-on-ones with new potentials. The Johnson domino falling will set in motion the filling of the four teams who have a head coach vacancy.

The New York Jets, for example, had Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn for an in-person interview on Tuesday. The Jets, like the Raiders, are hunting for a new general manager, too, and had Washington Commanders assistant GM Lance Newark in the building as well. (The Raiders interviewed Newark and was reportedly a choice in a pairing with Johnson in Las Vegas.)

Las Vegas, surprisingly (or unsurprisingly, depending on your point of view), has gone radio silent. Nary a word of a pivot on the rumor mill, no additional reports of interviews, too.

Which beckons the question: Is the Raiders coaching job undesirable?

Apparently not to John Spytek, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers assistant GM, who was hired as the general manager on Wednesday morning.

To a head coach, though…

The macro view certainly does favor Russini’s tweet above. In fact, she’s not alone as many of her cohorts at The Athletic and other media covering the NFL have stood on a soapbox bemoaning the Raiders’ lack of a quality signal caller as detrimental.

Las Vegas currently has Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew II as the top two options at quarterback, which may dampen the flames of desire instead of stoking them for potential head coach candidates. While the team does own the No. 6 overall pick in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft and projected to have the second-most cap space available this offseason, the path to a first-round prospect or a veteran stop gap on the free agent market is covered by tall grass and dense vegetation.

The roster does have excellent pieces in defensive end Maxx Crosby and rookie tight end Brock Bowers. Veteran wide receiver Jakobi Meyers is a weapon, too. And young offensive linemen Jackson Powers-Johnson and DJ Glaze showed promise in their rookie years, too. But there’s gaps all along the roster and in-house key contributors like middle linebacker Robert Spillane, cornerback Nate Hobbs, and safety Tre’Von Moehrig are slated to hit unrestricted free agency.

So there’s plenty of work that needs to be done between head coach and GM (namely whom ever has final say on the roster).

We’ll likely never know the micro view, however.

While innuendo leading up to Johnson’s decision Monday was the Raiders were gaining momentum in landing him as head coach, it didn’t come to fruition. And teams — especially the Raiders — rarely admit to flops. They can do the PR spin and attempt to negate the heat, as will fans and other media outlets (you’ve likely seen this already with “dodged a bullet” as a common phrase for Johnson spurning the Raiders).

The assumption was Las Vegas waxed both head coach Antonio Pierce and general manager Tom Telesco to attract Johnson with a clean slate — build it your way with a GM that works in cohesion with you.

Now the Brady/Korn Ferry-driven hunt for a new head coach continues on, but with a GM in place. The Raiders aren’t alone in the disappointment department, though.

Liam Coen signing a new deal to remain as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator (reportedly going to earn a robust amount of coin, no less) leaves the Jacksonville Jaguars in a similar conundrum as Las Vegas. And the same question for the Jags can be asked: Is that job undesirable?

Surely Jacksonville’s undying loyalty to general manager Trent Baalke affects that landing spot as a coach will be paired with the sitting chief personnel person. The Jaguars did fire Baalke Wednesday afternoon. (A Raider connection here: Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham is slated to have an in-person interview in Jacksonville; former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh, too).

The mention of Coen has Raiders connections (as sparse as it is). There was a projection that Las Vegas could pair Coen with Spytek as a potential head coach-general manager duo in the desert. However, while the Raiders have hired Spytek, the team never requested to speak with Coen.

But Coen’s decision strikes similar of Johnson’s decision last hiring cycle to remain with his current team. If the Bucs continue to have success, expect Coen’s name to come up next offseason.

But where do the Raiders go from here?

There’s only 32 head coaching gigs across the league and captaining the Silver & Black is one of them. It’s not a diluted market with numerous opportunities across the landscape. And an intrepid coordinator or assistant looking to lead a team of their own can always rise to the surface.

But with Las Vegas swinging and missing on Johnson and landing Spytek, a pivot in priorities has happened.

Namely, Spytek having sway in picking the eventual head coach. While it sure looked like the courtship of Johnson would’ve been coach first, GM second, or both at same time, circumstances have changed.

The Raiders picked Spytek from a candidate list that included other assistant GMs — Brandon Brown (New York Giants), Chad Alexander (Los Angeles Chargers) — along with Pittsburgh Steelers director of pro personnel Sheldon White and Green Bay Packers vice president of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan.

But it’s back to square one for the Silver & Black in terms of a head coach. And the Brady/Davis/Spytek sales pitch continues.