As far as this year’s head coaching search goes, Friday, June 10th marks what is arguably the most significant day for Mark Davis and the Las Vegas Raiders. On top of interviewing Ben Johnson, the top candidate in this year’s coaching cycle, Sin City is also welcoming a second coordinator from the Detroit Lions, Aaron Glenn.
The top two available coaches are interviewing to fill Sin City’s vacant head coach job on the same day.
While this day was already of great significance heading into Thursday, the stakes have increased after Davis, the controlling owner of the Raiders, elected to part ways with his club’s now-former general manager Tom Telesco. Now that there’s an opening available at the forefront of the front office, an incoming head coach would, theoretically, be able to bring whoever he’d like as a partner to Sin City as the team’s general manager.
That’s quite an incentive for someone looking to build their own empire—being able to personally hand-select the head of his new club’s front office.
But is it enough incentive to lure one of the top two candidates?
The elephant in the room couldn’t be more obvious: The Las Vegas Raiders are in dire need of a starting-caliber quarterback. More than that, the sixth overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft almost certainly takes Sin City out of the running for a top prospect at the position.
Although a surprise opt-in by a signal caller such as Penn State’s Drew Allar could change that.
For this reason, among others that stem from organizational instability and a tough division, NFL Network’s Judy Battista ranks Las Vegas the sixth-most desirable destination among all six teams that are currently without a head coach. A ranking that, while harsh, may not be too far off base.
Other head coaching interviews for the Las Vegas Raiders
Aside from Johnson and Glenn, Mark Davis has requested permission to speak with Steve Spagnuolo of the Kansas City Chiefs and Todd Monken of the Baltimore Ravens. Additionally, Davis has reached out to free agent coach Robert Salah for an interview.
Davis will meet with Salah sometime next week as he waits to hear from Andy Reid and John Harbaugh.
As far as how quickly a decision will be made, that depends on how Davis approaches the hiring process this go-around. Last year, prior to hiring Antonio Pierce, the Raiders controlling owner noted he’d likely hire a general manager before a head coach. That did change, but Davis stayed true to his reasoning.
“I believe the GM has to have some say in who the coaching staff is going to be,” Davis explained. And, although the general manager was hired second, he did have a say in who the team’s head coach would be.
During general manager interviews last year, which took place before head coaching interviews, Davis asked each candidate who they’d hire to lead the team on the field. Each of the candidates gave the same answer: Antonio Pierce.
If Davis is still of this mind-frame, we’ll see a general manager hired first, followed by a head coach sometime later. However, there is one notable difference between last year’s search and this year’s: Tom Brady.
Brady, who bought a minority stake in the Raiders in 2024, has been a major player in Sin City’s moves thus far. If Brady thinks hiring a head coach first is the right move, that’s what Davis will do.
With premier candidates such as Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn coming to interview so soon, that may be exactly where Brady’s head is at.
*Top Photo: Getty Images
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