Talk of the Raiders signing Ben Johnson is heating up

Will Ben Johnson leave his job as Detroit Lions offensive coordinator for one of the various jobs he’s interviewed for? As the Lions prepare to host the Commanders in the divisional round of the playoffs, the future has slipped into the present for Johnson.

That hasn’t stopped chatter about his future from currently reverberating on the NFL grapevine.

Beginning last Thursday, talk of Johnson and the Raiders began to intensify. Coincidentally, or not, that was the same day the Raiders fired GM Tom Telesco, paving the way for Johnson’s prioritized “alignment” with the front office.

Not that Johnson would ask for Telesco or anyone else to be fired. However, if the team really wants Johnson, they need to hear the clues and act on them. If the Raiders want Johnson, as it appears, they have acted accordingly.

Johnson, we’ve heard, came out of his interview with the Raiders feeling positive about the team and minority owner Tom Brady — who has taken a leading role in the ongoing search for a new coach.

We recently picked up on a rumor that the Raiders made a “massive” contract offer to Johnson. While it is too early to officially make offers, given that they have yet to conduct a face-to-face interview with Johnson, a number are rumored to be unofficially available.

It remains to be seen whether this is credible or not. Owner Mark Davis isn’t exactly in the upper echelon of cash-rich NFL owners. With recent acquisitions like Jon Gruden, Josh McDaniels, Dave Ziegler, Antonio Pierce and Telesco, the piggy banks may have to be broken open to break Johnson’s starting curve.

A “massive” deal would also upset other owners, some of whom are obsessed with preventing bidding wars for coaches, where there is no salary cap and franchise tag, and the market could easily break down.

But it’s more than money for Johnson. If he works for the Raiders, he has access to Brady. Regardless of the details of the rules, it is also rumored that they spent a lot of time talking on the phone.

They were allowed to talk as part of Brady’s deal with Fox. While he can’t attend production meetings, Brady is allowed to talk to coaches and players about the games he’ll be working on. And he’ll be working the Lions game this weekend.

Johnson cannot be hired until the Lions’ season is over. And the season could culminate with Brady calling Johnson’s final game with the Lions, just one day before Brady invites Johnson for a one-way ride on his private jet to Las Vegas.

There are currently no other matching destinations. Johnson interviewed with the Raiders, Bears, Jaguars and Patriots. The alignment he wants doesn’t exist in Jacksonville and probably isn’t in play with the Bears. Unless the Cowboys (who blew the window to interview Johnson anytime before the end of the Lions’ season because they didn’t interview him via Zoom last week) are late, it will be the Raiders or the status quo for Johnson.

More and more people around the league believe it will be the Raiders.