During the Las Vegas Raiders’ search for a new head coach and general manager, much attention was given to Tom Brady’s perceived influence within the organization. As the NFL on Fox broadcaster moonlights as a minority owner, his potential conflict of interest was on full display during the NFC Divisional Round on Fox.
Brady notably avoided mentioning Ben Johnson, a hot candidate for the Raiders’ head coaching job, during the Washington Commanders’ 45-31 win over the Detroit Lions. Johnson was the Lions’ offensive coordinator then, but he’s since been hired by the Chicago Bears as their next head coach
That, however, didn’t make Brady’s involvement any less controversial.
The Raiders have since hired John Spytek, a former Tampa Bay Buccaneers executive with ties to Brady, as their general manager and Pete Carroll as their new head coach. While owner Mark Davis essentially confirmed Brady’s significant sway over team decisions, Dianna Russini’s recent comments to Ryen Russillo only reinforced what many already suspected — Brady is not-so-quietly pulling all the strings in Las Vegas.
“Let’s just start with making it really clear that Tom Brady is running everything in Vegas,” Russini said during an appearance on The Ringer’s The Ryen Russillo Podcast. “It’s all Tom Brady. I think there’s some rumors, some chatter — I’m telling you, it’s all Tom Brady there. I mean, even his own TB12 programs are being installed, so to speak. Alex Guerrero is out there. He’s going to be working with some of the players.
“He is trying to do it and change the Raiders — and have a tremendous amount of influence on them. I’m sure you and I can probably debate whether or not that’s a good thing or not. My instinct is, yeah, the guy knows how to win, obviously. Why not listen to him? I’d rather listen to Tom Brady calling everything than Mark Davis — no disrespect to Mark. Tom has a thought, an idea; he understands what it takes.”
The obvious conflict of interest surrounding Brady’s dual roles isn’t new, and many believe it’s only a matter of time before he’s forced to pick one or the other. Which side he’d choose seems equally obvious. For now, though, Brady has made it abundantly clear — through himself and his agent — that he has no intention of stepping back. He plans to honor his $375 million contract with Fox while simultaneously overseeing his efforts to turn the Raiders around.
Whether that balancing act can continue without further controversy remains to be seen.
But for now, the situation remains a delicate balancing act, with Brady’s influence hovering over the Raiders despite any public attempts to downplay it.
“Now, that being said, he’s not working with a lot there,” Russini continued. “We know they don’t have a quarterback. Their roster’s not great. I mean, outside of Maxx Crosby, [Brock Bowers]… The pitch to Ben Johnson has to be layered in Bradyisms and Ben Johnson had to feel like, ‘We’re going to do this the right way, and I’m going to do this with you. We’re in lockstep. We’re together. We’re a team.’ Not so much, ‘I’m owner, you’re coach.’ And I think that was really enticing to Ben Johnson, who has been very hesitant to hopping into this head coaching space.”
“I get why Brady was after him,” she added. “And Brady was enamored with him. He thought he was a brilliant coach. It was real.”
But Johnson needed a quarterback — and Brady wasn’t enough.
Brady’s insistence on playing both sides seems to be more than enough for both the league and Fox Sports, with the latter dismissing any “ridiculous” notion of a perceived conflict of interest as nothing more than baseless sports media filler.