Following the first round of virtual interviews, the Las Vegas Raiders are ahead of the Chicago Bears in the sweepstakes to land Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
The Raiders made important moves that would be appealing to the 38-year-old coach. Las Vegas fired general manager Tom Telesco, giving their next head coach a chance to have a say in who the next GM will be. Minority owner Tom Brady appears to be the man in charge in Las Vegas during the early stages of their coaching search.
In contrast, it’s unclear who is in charge of the ever-widening coaching search at Halas Hall. While the Raiders firing Telesco made the Raiders opening more appealing, the Bears might not have had to fire Poles to ease Johnson.
Is Kevin Warren the problem?
CEO Kevin Warren is throwing a wrench into the coaching search.
During an appearance on the Irish Bears Network on Tuesday, Jeff Hughes with DaBearsBlog went on a few rants against Warren, calling him a “buffoon” and “empty suit.” Hughes believes Poles and Johnson hit it off during their meeting on Saturday. Still, Johnson has reservations about the power structure at Halas Hall.
“What would turn Ben off is what I’ve been talking about,” Hughes said in between gulps out of a Coors tall boy. “Ben is not going to come into a situation where there are 12 cooks in the kitchen above him. So he’s going to want very clear instructions or a very clear understanding of what the organizational structure is. Who does he answer to?”
The Chicago Bears can still land Ben Johnson
© Kirthmon F. Dozier / USA TODAY NETWORK
Hughes predicted Johnson would join the Bears over the Raiders, arguing that Brady’s minority ownership in Las Vegas would have any real pull on a candidate choosing where to put a stake in their career. But he did warn that Warren’s input could kill any deal for Chicago and Johnson.
“Johnson is my prediction,” Hughes said of who he thinks will be the Bears next head coach. “I think the things I’ve heard from Ben’s camp, the things I’ve heard from Ryan’s camp, there’s a real…they’re on the same page. I (expletive) hate that Kevin Warren has any input in this decision. I really do. I’m not a Kevin fan for a lot of reasons that I’m hearing inside the building.”
Per chairman George McCaskey, in the Bears organization, the GM reports to the CEO, who reports to the chairman.
Warren isn’t going anywhere.
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