Mailbag: Would Ben Johnson have made the 2024 Raiders better?

Returning Raider Nation’s questions for the week

We’re a couple of weeks into the offseason for the Las Vegas Raiders and the head coach search is heating up with buzz surrounding Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson heading to the Raiders gaining steam. While this week’s mailbag will focus on Johnson and the head coach search, it’s also open to any NFL Draft and free agency questions.

Q: If Ben Johnson and the Raiders agree to a contract, could he do more with this same (offensive) roster than what was done last season?

A: Adding Johnson wouldn’t solve all of Las Vegas’ offensive issues as the team still has question marks at running back, on the line and, of course, at quarterback. But I do think he would have gotten more out of the personnel than this past year’s staff.

Johnson is a pretty creative play-caller, especially in the running game, so I’d trust him to adjust his scheme to fit his player’s strengths more than Luke Getsy and company. Also, Aidan O’Connell is a much better fit in Johnson’s passing game, which uses a heavy dose of play-action, than Getsy’s system.

He’s not a miracle worker who would have made the Raiders a playoff contender in 2024, but I feel confident that Johnson would have gotten better results this season.

A: The offense is definitely Johnson’s since Dan Campbell isn’t much of a scheme guy, having never served as an offensive coordinator before becoming the Lions’ head coach. Granted, Campbell was a tight end and a tight ends coach, but he likely hired Johnson for his system or vision of an offense that leans heavily on the position. For what it’s worth, Johnson is also a former tight ends coach.

I think Brock Bowers would be a big draw for any offensive-minded coach and having Michael Mayer, who was widely considered a top tight end in the draft two years ago, could be intriguing as well. Though Mayer hasn’t done much during his first two seasons, a young and talented tight end duo could certainly entice a coach that used the third-highest rate of 12 personnel this season, per Sumer Sports.

Q: Any insights into why the Raiders haven’t requested interviews with Joe Brady or Liam Coen?

Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

A: I don’t have any inside information on that and I am also surprised they haven’t interviewed Brady or Coen yet, especially the latter since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers got eliminated last week. Las Vegas could still chat with those two, but my current read on the situation is that the organization’s first choice is Johnson, and Plan B is Pete Carroll.

I think Johnson being the top candidate in this hiring cycle—and arguably last year’s too—trumps any criteria Mark Davis has for the next head coach. But if the Lions’ OC doesn’t want the job, Davis would prefer to have an experienced candidate after it didn’t work with Antonio Pierce.

Again, we’ll see if that changes next week or the week after as the Raiders don’t need to be in a hurry to make a decision.

Q: Could the Raiders trade the sixth pick for J.J. McCarthy?

A: Las Vegas would probably take that deal but I’d be surprised if Minnesota was willing to trade McCarthy away with how Sam Darnold finished the season. I was dreaming of that scenario a few weeks ago, but that feels like an even bigger pipe dream now.

Q: What’s your opinion of Champ Kelly and whether he was responsible for any of our draft picks, especially D.J. Glaze? And do you think he’d be a good fit as GM, not wanting too much power but is a good talent evaluator and understands the cap stuff?

A: To be honest, I don’t know how much influence Kelly has had in the draft or any personnel decisions. Obviously, he has some say but to what extent is unknown. I think Kelly could have a future as a general manager, but it will probably be elsewhere.

Tom Brady and Davis let Tom Telesco go so the next head coach can influence the GM hire. So, I’d imagine the job will go to someone outside of the organization who likely has ties to the new HC.

Q: The Raider franchise in the past has not done well recruiting talent when the HC was basically the GM too. In the Franchise’s current GM, HC search it looks like the HC will be picked first then the GM. It seems like the Franchise is making the same mistake, but what is the hierarchy on winning Franchises? Do Harbaugh, Payton, Reid, Tomlin, Belichick etc run the GM side of their franchises too?

A: Most successful franchises have a head coach who has say on the roster decisions but the general manager has ultimate power. That’s the structure the Kansas City Chiefs have with Brett Veach and Andy Reid.

Granted, the longer the coach sticks around the more pull he gets, and sometimes that can lead to some head-butting between the two decision-makers. That’s what happened with Jim Harbaugh in San Francisco and New England eventually gave Belichick GM powers and that ended up being a disaster.

Ultimately, what needs to happen is the head coach and general manager need to be on the same page while there’s an understanding that the GM has the final say. I think (or hope) that’s what the Raiders are aiming for by hiring the two positions at the same time rather than having a head coach who calls all the shots and a head nodder at general manager.

In other words, the organization is looking for two guys who want to work together and will listen to each other, but the hierarchy between general manager and head coach will still exist.

Also, there needs to be open communication and ego-checking from both parties. While that sounds easy, it doesn’t happen all the time between two people who have reached the top of their professions.

Q: How would it work if Deion Sanders became coach and insisted on Shedeur to be QB? Would he tell the Titans to take what they can get from the Raiders for their pick or Shedeur will sit the year out and become a free agent?

A: A day after the report dropped that Deion was interested in the Raiders job, a new report leaked that the club isn’t interested in Deion. A quick turnaround/rejection from the organization is a pretty good sign that’s not happening.

A: The Cowboys would have to eat the bulk of Dak Prescott’s contract and Over The Cap has Prescott’s dead cap number at over $103 million in that scenario. So, I don’t think this would be realistic, but that’d be a great deal for the Raiders!

I like Prescott’s game and would take him over Sanders, especially if Las Vegas doesn’t have to take on the bulk of his contract.

Q: Are either Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward worth trading up for if the cost is two number ones?

A: I’m assuming this would be the sixth overall pick and an additional two first-round picks, so the other team nets two firsts. Sanders, that’s a hard no from me. But I could be convinced on Ward.

Ward isn’t a complete product and isn’t on the same level as C.J. Stroud, Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye, and his draft stock is getting a boost from being in a weak quarterback class. However, the Miami product does have a lot of talent to be a successful starting quarterback in the NFL, in my opinion.

Trading two first-round picks for Ward would be a gamble, but it might be one Vegas should be willing to take to get the most important position on the field right.

Q: Why isn’t anyone talking about Justin Fields as a QB option for the Raiders?

Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images

A: A big part of that is that the team doesn’t have a head coach and Fields needs to be in a specific type of system to be successful in the NFL. He’d be a decent fit with Todd Monken, but Fields isn’t a good passer and doesn’t see the field well. There’s a reason why he got replaced by Russell Wilson in Pittsburgh and will be on his third team in as many years next season.

Q: Any news about Patrick Graham looking for a job beyond head coach of the Jags and DC of the Bengals?

A: Not much other than that. Graham has been named as a potential candidate for the Patriots’ and Falcons’ defensive coordinator jobs, but Cincinnati and Jacksonville seem to be the two spots that are the most interested in him. New England and Atlanta were more speculation from the media.

A: I did a film room piece on Jalen Milroe (hyperlinked) that published on Friday and will be working through the majority of the quarterback class to begin my draft coverage. Jaxson Dart is up next and I’ll be diving into plenty of other QBs between now and April. Buckle up!

A: Tyreik McAllister is intriguing as a running back/wide receiver/kick returner and he made a few splash plays in the preseason. As far as Nathan Peterman goes, the Raiders have blown their chance at keeping the G.O.A.T. around twice, he’s on to bigger and better things! (Long-running Twitter joke for those who are confused).

That’ll do it for this week’s mailbag. Thank you all for submitting questions and, as your weekly reminder, if you’d like to have your questions answered in a future column, tweet them at me, @MHolder95, email them to [email protected] or look for our weekly call for questions on the site. The latter will continue to publish on Thursdays.