Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson more than likely will not be in the same role come next fall. The talented football mind was a frontrunner for a couple of openings last year, but he opted to run it back in Detroit for one more year. This year, it feels inevitable that he will leave the Motor City for a head coaching role somewhere else.
Currently, there are six clubs with head coaching vacancies. That includes the Raiders, who fired Antonio Pierce just one year after elevating him from interim head coach to the full-time role. Las Vegas needs a new man at the helm of a club with plenty of question marks on the roster.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, Johnson’s initial plan was to interview with just three teams — the Bears, the Jaguars, and the Patriots. New England is already out after hiring Mike Vrabel to replace Jerod Mayo, leaving the Lions offensive coordinator with just two potential options. However, new Las Vegas owner and seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady reportedly changed Johnson’s opinion on the Raiders, according to Breer, and now the legendary quarterback may be helping bring the Detroit mastermind to Sin City.
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Here is the problem — Brady also is a broadcaster for Fox Sports. The future Hall of Famer is in his first year as the color commentator on the network’s top team, alongside Kevin Burkhardt. For the divisional round, Brady will be on the mic for Lions-Commanders, calling the very same game that involves his potential future head coach.
That has resulted in a number of fans up in arms about a potential conflict of interest while Brady is in the broadcast booth for the Detroit contest. Here’s what to know on the matter.
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Tom Brady-Ben Johnson controversy, explained
When Brady officially finalized his ownership of the Raiders, it began a parade of people calling out the problem of him being an owner of an NFL team, while also broadcasting games for a major network. A number felt as though it would create a conflict of interest, however, nothing changed on the matter.
Despite his financial investment into the Las Vegas club, Brady’s role at Fox never changed. He was on the mic with Burkhardt, week after week, leading the network’s coverage of their big game each Sunday. In fact, it was reported that he could still call Raiders games, although he ended up not being on the mic for either of Las Vegas’ games on Fox in 2024.
The issue now is that he is reportedly going to be involved with the head coaching hire for Las Vegas, which includes dissecting if Johnson is the man for the job. It presents a potential conflict of interest with Brady set to be discussing Johnson’s play-calling during the Lions-Commanders divisional-round battle.
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“I think this is absurd,” 670 The Score’s David Baugh said on Monday. “I don’t want Tom Brady doing this game. He shouldn’t be. This is ridiculous … this is a total conflict of interest. If [the NFL] doesn’t address it, it’s going to be even more offensive. You’ve got to address this, somehow.”
Brady already has restrictions in place on what he can and can’t do as a result of his ownership. However, there is nothing in place to prohibit him from praising anything and everything that Johnson does during the playoff matchup against Washington. Considering Johnson’s interest in the role, it does make for an awkward situation with a potential future boss complimenting what might be his next employee for a national audience to hear.
Fox Sports pushed back sharply on the idea Brady is calling the game with a conflict of interest. “The questioning of someone’s integrity to say there is a conflict of interest is ridiculous and a shame,” Fox Sports president of programming and production Brad Zager told The Athletic.
Does it ultimately have any impact on whether Johnson lands the job or not? Not really. It’s not like Brady isn’t allowed to analyze the game like anyone else in Las Vegas’ search party for the next leader. But for those tuning into the Lions contest on Saturday night, there undoubtedly will be people unhappy to hear Brady singing Johnson’s praises, knowing that he also has been an active recruiter in drawing the offensive coordinator to the Raiders.