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Darrell Bevell Expected Raiders OC Favorite; Tom Cable Reunion On Radar

By | at January 28, 2025 6:12 pm

TODAY, 6:12pm: The Raiders are moving quickly in their search for a new OC, and that includes meeting with the favorite for the gig. The team interviewed Bevell for the job today, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

TODAY, 4:50pm: Pete Carroll is believed to have studied potential successor options in the event he landed a head coaching job. A familiar name has surfaced for the team’s second-most important coaching role.

Darrell Bevell is believed to be the frontrunner for the Raiders’ OC position, The Athletic’s Tic Tafur and Tashan Reed report (subscription required). Bevell and Carroll coached together for seven seasons in Seattle, with that period doubling as the best in Seahawks history. Bevell served as Seahawks OC from 2011-17. The Raiders have not begun OC interviews, but it should be expected Bevell receives a request soon.

[RELATED: Russell Wilson, Sam Darnold In Play For Raiders?]

Although Carroll fired Bevell after the 2017 season, the experienced play-caller had helped Russell Wilson develop into one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks. Earlier in Wilson’s career, he formed an elite tandem with Marshawn Lynch. Yes, Bevell and Carroll did collaborate on a hotly debated goal-line play call that resulted in the Seahawks blowing a chance to win a second straight Super Bowl. But Carroll kept his OC on for three more seasons post-Super Bowl XLIX. Bevell has worked as an OC twice since his Seattle stay, doing so with the Lions and Jaguars. Both teams then moved him to interim HC after firing coaches in-season.

Bevell, 55, has been the Dolphins’ quarterbacks coach since 2022. This stretch has doubled as a breakthrough period for Tua Tagovailoa, even with injuries frequently slowing the talented passer. An NFL assistant since 2000, Bevell has been an OC for four teams — a five-year Vikings run from 2006-10 began his time in that job — and has 15 seasons’ worth of experience in that role. Bevell met about the Browns’ OC job this month.

Patrick Graham served as Raiders DC under both Josh McDaniels and Antonio Pierce, but he twice met with the Jaguars about their HC post and then completed a coordinator interview. He is viewed as a frontrunner to join Liam Coen. But Carroll will still speak with Graham about potentially staying in Las Vegas, Reed and Tafur add.

The Raiders’ defense tumbled after showing improvement in 2023. After producing the Raiders’ first top-half scoring defense finish since 2002, Graham’s unit fell from ninth to 25th from 2023-24. Granted, the Raiders’ shaky offensive situation did not put Graham’s defense in good spots. And, in terms of total defense, Graham’s troops placed 15th in each of the past two years. Graham lost out on the Bengals’ DC post earlier this month, but he has been a coaching carousel regular in recent years.

Carroll also has a past with ex-Raiders HC Tom Cable, and The Athletic indicates the new Vegas leader is interested in reuniting with his former O-line coach. Cable has already enjoyed two stints with the Raiders. The first was more memorable, as it featured him taking over for Lane Kiffin during the 2008 season and keeping the Oakland HC job through the 2010 slate. Cable went 17-27 as the Raiders’ HC, though a chunk of that time came with JaMarcus Russell at quarterback.

Cable joined Bevell in Seattle from 2011-17, serving as Seahawks O-line coach, and returned to the Raiders to work under Jon Gruden in the same capacity. Cable, 60, has not coached since spending the 2021 season with the Raiders. Reuniting the Carroll-Bevell-Cable trio on offense may not be the most inspiring route for the Raiders, but it certainly would supply experience. The Chiefs’ coaching staff continues to show important that can be. Carroll and GM John Spytek are not at the Senior Bowl presently, with Reed noting they are focusing on putting a staff together. It will certainly be interesting a Seahawks South vibe comes to fruition.

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Raiders To Interview Rob Leonard For DC

By | at January 27, 2025 4:29 pm

The Raiders are in position to move on from Patrick Graham after he worked as the team’s defensive coordinator for the past three years. New head coach Pete Carroll has not dismissed Graham, but he is looking into alternative DC options.

At least one of those will be an internal candidate. Vegas will interview defensive line coach Rob Leonard for the coordinator position, as noted by Tashan Reed of The Athletic. Leonard is now the second staffer connected to the gig.

For the first three seasons of his coaching career, Leonard worked at his alma mater (North Carolina State). He has been in the NFL since 2013, with his first pro opportunity coming from the Giants. Leonard worked as a position coach during his six-year New York tenure, one which was followed by time with the Dolphins and Ravens. A veteran of multiple roles coaching players along the defensive front, he has been in place with the Raiders for the past two seasons.

Vegas was hit hard up front by injuries in 2024. Malcolm Koonce faced high expectations entering the campaign, but a knee injury left him sidelined for the entire season. Fellow edge rusher Maxx Crosby was limited to 12 games due to an ankle injury, meanwhile, something which left the Raiders particularly shorthanded to close out the campaign. The team took a step back in terms of sacks recorded this year, but in 2023 Leonard’s unit demonstrated potential in that department.

It is already known that Seahawks pass-game coordinator Karl Scott has received an interview request. Scott is the last remaining Seattle staffer with ties to Carroll, so it comes as no surprise a reunion will be considered. It will be interesting to see if any other in-house options receive a look in addition to Leonard as the Raiders (presumably) expand their search over the coming days.

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Raiders Request DC Interview With Karl Scott; Bo Hardegree, David Shaw On Radar?

By | at January 27, 2025 11:09 am

Pete Carroll is set to return to the NFL coaching ranks with the Raiders. As the 73-year-old prepares to fill out his staff, a number of names worth monitoring have emerged.

Karl Scott was floated as a potential defensive coordinator candidate once the news of Carroll’s Vegas hire emerged. Scott serves as the Seahawks’ defensive passing game coordinator and he represents the last holdover from Carroll’s Seattle staffs. To no surprise, then, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reports Scott has received a DC interview request from the Raiders.

Vegas has had Patrick Graham in place as defensive coordinator for the past three seasons, but with a new staff incoming it would come as no surprise if he were to depart in the near future. The 46-year-old is believed to be a leading candidate for the Jaguars’ DC gig, so he may have his next opportunity lined up soon. In any case, it will be interesting to see if Scott receives strong consideration to reunite with Carroll in Vegas.

The 39-year-old began his coaching career in 2007, making a number of stops at the college level. Scott spent three seasons working under Nick Saban at Alabama as the team’s defensive backs coach before receiving his first look in the NFL. The Vikings hired him to be their DBs coach for 2021, and he has held that same role with the Seahawks since 2022.

Making the jump to defensive coordinator would be a first for Scott, but given his familiarity with Carroll the Raiders’ gig could be a suitable one. Vegas finished ninth in points allowed in 2023, but this past season – one in which injuries along the edge in particular hindered the team – saw a regression to 25th in that department. Whether Scott or another candidate is hired, guiding that unit to a rebound will be a clear goal next season.

With respect to the offensive coordinator position, a separate Jones report notes Bo Hardegree is a name to watch. The Titans’ quarterbacks coach previously held that title with the Raiders; in 2023, he served as Vegas’ interim OC. A return to Sin City could be in order, especially since Hardegree (who interviewed with the Bears before they made their offensive coordinator hire) is still on the market.

Jones also writes that David Shaw could be on the Raiders’ radar. The longitme Stanford head coach has drawn HC interest around the NFL in recent years, and in 2024 he worked with the Broncos as a senior personnel executive. Shaw, 52, was also on the Bears’ interview list for their offensive coordinator gig. He, along with Scott and Hardegree, will be worth watching closely as Carroll weighs his staffing options.

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2025 NFL Offensive/Defensive Coordinator Search Tracker

By | at January 26, 2025 9:57 pm

Last year, half the league changed up at offensive and defensive coordinator. As most HC-needy teams have now filled their open positions, the coordinator carousel has accelerated. Here is how the market looks now. When other teams make changes, they will be added to the list.

Updated 2-21-25 (1:59pm CT)

Offensive coordinators

Chicago Bears (Out: Chris Beatty)

Cleveland Browns (Out: Ken Dorsey)

Dallas Cowboys (Out: Brian Schottenheimer)

Detroit Lions (Out: Ben Johnson)

  • John Morton, pass-game coordinator (Broncos): Hired

Houston Texans (Out: Bobby Slowik)

Jacksonville Jaguars (Out: Press Taylor)

Las Vegas Raiders 

New England Patriots (Out: Alex Van Pelt)

New Orleans Saints (Out: Klint Kubiak)

New York Jets (Out: Nathaniel Hackett)

Philadelphia Eagles (Out: Kellen Moore)

  • Kevin Patullo, pass-game coordinator (Eagles): Promoted

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks (Out: Ryan Grubb)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Out: Liam Coen)

Defensive coordinators

Atlanta Falcons (Out: Jimmy Lake)

Chicago Bears (Out: Eric Washington)

Cincinnati Bengals (Out: Lou Anarumo)

Dallas Cowboys (Out: Mike Zimmer)

Detroit Lions (Out: Aaron Glenn)

  • Larry Foote, inside linebackers coach (Buccaneers): Interviewed
  • Kelvin Sheppard, linebackers coach (Lions): Promoted

Indianapolis Colts (Out: Gus Bradley)

Jacksonville Jaguars (Out: Ryan Nielsen)

  • Anthony Campanile, linebackers coach/running game coordinator (Packers): Hired
  • Jonathan Cooley, pass-game coordinator (Panthers): Interview requested
  • Patrick Graham, former defensive coordinator (Raiders): Interviewed 1/27
  • Daronte Jones, defensive pass-game coordinator (Vikings): Interviewed 1/27
  • Aubrey Pleasant, defensive pass-game coordinator (Rams): Interviewed 1/28

Las Vegas Raiders 

New England Patriots (Out: DeMarcus Covington)

  • Ryan Crow, outside linebackers coach (Dolphins): Interviewed 1/21
  • Terrell Williams, defensive line coach (Lions): Hired

New Orleans Saints (Out: Joe Woods)

New York Jets (Out: Jeff Ulbrich)

  • Chris Harris, former defensive backs coach/passing game coordinator (Titans): Interviewed 1/29
  • Steve Wilks, former defensive coordinator (49ers): To be hired

San Francisco 49ers (Out: Nick Sorensen)

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Sam Darnold, Russell Wilson Potential QB Targets For Raiders

By | at January 25, 2025 11:34 pm

With Pete Carroll and John Spytek now installed atop the organization, the Raiders can switch their focus to finding a starting quarterback. Armed with the sixth-overall pick, there’s been some belief that the organization could position themselves to take one of the draft’s top quarterback prospects. However, the front office could also look to free agency to solve their QB woes.

At least one rival executive believes Sam Darnold could be an option for the Raiders, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. After reviving his career with the Vikings, Darnold could find himself priced out of Minnesota (especially with J.J. McCarthy waiting in the wings). The Raiders are armed with close to $100MM in cap space, so the front office could be a strong suitor in any bidding war.

Darnold had a breakout season during the 2024 campaign, tossing 35 touchdowns while guiding the Vikings to a 14-3 record. The veteran struggled a bit at the end of the season, leading to some natural questions about his long-term starting candidacy. Kevin O’Connell and his offensive staff obviously deserve a ton of credit for Darnold’s turnaround, but perhaps the QB could bring some of those lessons to his next stop.

Interestingly, Russell Wilson is another name to watch for the Raiders, per Jeff Howe of The Athletic. Carroll and Wilson are obviously more than familiar with each other, although the QB’s stint in Seattle didn’t end on the best of terms. According to Howe, the two have “mended fences,” and that means a reunion in Las Vegas isn’t out of the picture. Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network subsequently confirmed as much (video link).

After the Broncos booted him out of Denver, Wilson showed that he can still be a competent game manager with the Steelers. While his one-year deal with Pittsburgh was partly connected to his impending payments from Denver, Wilson may have to settle for a similar contract in 2025.

While neither Darnold nor Wilson are all that inspiring (at least from a long-term perspective), the duo will likely represent the top of the free agent QBs class. A free agent acquisition wouldn’t necessarily preclude the Raiders from selecting a quarterback in the draft, but the team’s draft strategy could determine whether they’re seeking a long-term answer like Darnold or a one-year stopgap like Wilson. The Raiders could also look to stay with their current options, as Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew remain under contract. But with a new regime running the show, there’s a good chance the team looks to retool their personnel.

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Raiders To Hire Pete Carroll As HC

By | at January 24, 2025 8:44 pm

Pete Carroll recently emerged as the top name to watch regarding the Raiders’ head coaching vacancy. He is indeed on track to take over on the sidelines in Vegas.

Carroll and the Raiders are negotiating an agreement, Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network report. No deal is in place at the moment, but that is the goal on both sides. Provided this hire comes to pass, Vegas will have its new HC-GM combo in place. An agreement has now been reached, with ESPN’s Adam Schefter noting this will be a three-year contract including a team option for a fourth year.

Ben Johnson was seen as the Raiders’ top head coaching target, with a major offer being expected. The quarterback position is certainly a different story in Vegas as opposed to Chicago as things stand, however, and the former Lions OC ultimately chose to take the Bears’ gig. That took the most in-demand coaching candidate off the market and forced the Raiders to pivot.

On Monday, it was reported Carroll had become the frontrunner for the Vegas posting. The former Seahawks Super Bowl winner interviewed with the Bears before they elected to bring in Johnson, but since he also spoke with the Raiders it was clear a market existed for a return to the NFL. The 73-year-old discussed the Cowboys’ vacancy with Jerry Jones yesterday, but instead of making a serious run at that position he will take over a Raiders team which has undergone major changes recently.

Not long after his minority stake in the franchise was officially purchased, Tom Brady became a central figure in Vegas’ head coaching and general manager searches. Antonio Pierce was fired after one full season on the sidelines, and at the time that move was made it appeared general manager Tom Telesco would be safe. Just two days later, though, Telesco was also dismissed after his debut campaign running the front office. With Brady and Jed Hughes (who played a role in Carroll’s Seahawks hire in 2010) leading the way, the Raiders have now filled both vacancies.

Former Buccaneers assistant GM John Spytek reached agreement with the Raiders on Wednesday to take over as the team’s new general manager. Now, he and Carroll will look to lead the franchise in a new direction from a culture perspective will overseeing a roster rebuild. The quarterback position is one of many which needs to be addressed in the spring.

Prior to today’s news, the oldest head coaching hire in NFL history came when 66-year-old Bruce Arians took charge of the Buccaneers. His Tampa Bay tenure included a Super Bowl win with Brady under center, and now the latter will look to steer the Raiders back to contention with Carroll on the sidelines. Given his age, it will be interesting to see how deep into this contract Carroll lasts.

In any event, owner Mark Davis’ willingness to allow for a long-term plan to be put in place by the Carroll-Spytek tandem will make for a key storyline. Davis informed Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler they would have three years to oversee a rebuilding effort upon being hired in 2022, but he pulled the plug midway through Year 2 of that setup. Davis was known to favor something other than the ‘Patriot Way’ approach this time around, and that has proven to be the case with the new faces in the front office and on the sidelines.

Carroll coached the Jets in 1994 before taking charge of the Patriots from 1997-99. It was not until 2010 that he got his next NFL head coaching opportunity, but in the intervening years he had a successful tenure at USC which included a national title. His 14-year Seahawks run produced a pair of Super Bowl appearances and the franchise’s only championship.

Carroll stepped aside from Seattle last offseason, although he attempted to reverse course on that move. In the end, the Seahawks moved on by hiring Mike Macdonald as head coach. That left Carroll out of coaching, and in August he expressed contentment with that situation. Things have obviously changed since then, though, and now he will take charge of a Raiders team with considerable ground to make up moving forward.

Each of the other three teams in the AFC West (coached by Andy Reid, Jim Harbaugh and Sean Payton) qualified for the playoffs in 2024. Expectations will remain high in Kansas City, Los Angeles and Denver in the immediate future, whereas the Raiders face a number of questions at this point. It is now known that Carroll – who of course had considerable sway regarding roster moves in Seattle – will be tasked with adding Vegas to the list of playoff contenders in the division during the latest chapter of his decorated coaching career.

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Raiders To Add John Spytek As GM

By | at January 22, 2025 10:08 pm

With the Raiders going in a different direction after Ben Johnson chose the Bears, they are circling back to a GM candidate not tied to the Chicago-bound coach. Tom Brady will turn to one of his college teammates to join him in Las Vegas.

Mentioned as a candidate early in this process, John Spytek landed the job. The Buccaneers’ assistant GM is finalizing a deal to join Brady in Vegas, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter reports. Spytek and Brady overlapped at Michigan in the late 1990s and with the Bucs. This will be a five-year deal, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com adds.

Although the Raiders became connected to pairing Johnson with former Lions coworker-turned-Commanders AGM Lance Newmark, the young assistant’s Monday choice changed that path. But Spytek has been on the Raiders’ radar for a bit longer. Earlier this month, when it became clear Brady was the lead voice in the Raiders’ GM search as well as their HC interview process, the team became tied to Spytek. The latter has been with the Bucs since 2016 and has been an NFL staffer for 21 years.

Spytek, 44, trekked to Ann Arbor a few years after Brady. The two only overlapped in 1999, before Brady’s NFL journey began, but Spytek crossed paths with the former Wolverines quarterback in 2020. Spytek was in place as Tampa Bay’s director of player personnel when the Bucs signed Brady in free agency. He remained one of Jason Licht‘s top lieutenants during Brady’s three-year tenure and climbed to an assistant GM post in 2023. Both Spytek and Mike Greenberg held that title in Tampa; Greenberg is still in the mix for the Jets’ job, but Newmark — especially after Aaron Glenn accepted the HC job — may be the most likely to land it.

As the Titans recently reminded via their Mike Borgonzi hire, not all GM posts are designed equally. As Borgonzi prepares to work with another exec (Chad Brinker) who holds final-say responsibilities in Tennessee, Spytek will walk into a situation that has changed significantly since NFL owners approved Brady as a minority Raiders stakeholder. Mark Davis has since given the all-time great/lead FOX analyst carte blanche in Vegas, entrusting him to lead the HC and GM searches and then perhaps do the same when it comes time to identify a quarterback. Spytek will now rejoin his former teammate and coworker to bring in HC and QB answers.

The Raiders have now hired three GMs since January 2022, and the most recent dismissal came due to Brady seeking alignment to go with the team’s next head coach. While Tom Telesco equipped Brady’s team with All-Pro tight end Brock Bowers, the ex-Chargers front office boss was shown the door in an effort to start fresh following the Antonio Pierce firing. The Raiders have one half of their next duo in place, but the other will probably be more significant — especially when considering how involved Brady figures to be on the personnel side.

With this GM job potentially a second-in-command post to Brady, the Raiders need a head coach after their Johnson push failed. Going by early favorites can lead to shaky ground — as the Jaguars’ search most recently reminded — but Pete Carroll has suddenly moved into serious contention for the job. The ex-Seahawks leader would be the oldest head coach in NFL history, at 73. No head coach older than 66 has ever been hired. It would mark a wild swing for the Raiders to zero in on a 38-year-old staffer only to hire a coach 35 years older soon after.

Spytek was in Tampa when the Bucs acquired Bruce Arians‘ rights in 2019, being part of the Bucs’ roster-building mission that eventually attracted Brady. The Bucs built a team that rolled to four playoff wins to close out the 2020 season, the last a dominant Super Bowl LV win that has aged well thanks to the Chiefs’ rebound effort. Spytek also played key roles in Tampa Bay reaching the playoffs with a $70MM-plus dead money bill, largely created by Brady’s retirement, and the team reaching agreements with Mike Evans, Baker Mayfield, Antoine Winfield Jr. and Tristan Wirfs this past offseason. Those re-ups helped produce the Bucs’ fourth straight NFC South title.

The Raiders have not formed cores strong enough for mass retention projects in a while, and their plans to replace Derek Carr fizzled quickly. Brady and Spytek will certainly make that continued effort their centerpiece task this offseason, as the Raiders have seen the AFC West strengthened by the arrivals of Sean Payton and Jim Harbaugh. This duo improving the fortunes of the Broncos and Chargers has made life more difficult for the Raiders, who have been looking up at the two-time reigning champion Chiefs for many years.

After the Telesco-Pierce and Josh McDaniels-Dave Ziegler regimes failed, Davis will entrust Brady and Spytek to take a crack at restoring the Silver and Black to a consistent contender for the first time in more than 20 years.

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Steve Wilks, Nick Caley, Scott Turner, Klint Kubiak Among Potential Aaron Glenn Jets Targets

By | at January 21, 2025 3:27 pm

3:27pm: Saints OC Klint Kubiak is another name to watch on this front, Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic reports. Kubiak met with the Browns for their offensive coordinator position prior to the team’s decision to promote Tommy Rees. He does not have a history of working with Glenn, but the 37-year-old would make for an interesting addition to the Jets’ staff if he were to be brought in.

1:14pm: Aaron Glenn is set to take part in his second Jets head coaching interview today, and he represents the team’s top target. A deal could be reached at any time as a result, and a few interesting names have emerged with respect to coaches who could find themselves on a Glenn-led staff.

On the defensive side of the ball, SNY’s Connor Hughes notes that Steve Wilks will be a name to watch. Wilks will be a potential defensive coordinator candidate for New York in the event Glenn is hired as head coach. The latter is currently the Lions’ DC, but there is of course no guarantee he would continue calling plays if he were to take on the Jets’ head coaching position.

Wilks has a coaching background dating back to 1995, and he has been on an NFL sideline for all but three seasons since 2005. The 55-year-old has been a full-time head coach on one occasion in addition to a pair of defensive coordinator gigs at the pro level. The most recent of those was in 2023 with the 49ers, a position Wilks took after he did not receive the Panthers’ full-time HC gig . San Francisco moved on from him after last year’s Super Bowl, and he was out of coaching for this season.

With respect to potential offensive coordinators, Hughes reports Glenn has been in contact with at least two candidates. Nick Caley is one of them; the soon-to-be 42-year-old is currently in place on the Rams’ staff. Caley spent eight years with the Patriots, with much of that time coming as the team’s tight ends coach. He continued in that role last year upon arrival in Los Angeles, but this season he took on the additional title of pass game coordinator.

Caley does not have experience as an offensive coordinator, but Scott Turner does. The latter is the other name Glenn has been in contact with, per Hughes. Turner took over as interim OC for the Raiders after Luke Getsy‘s midseason firing, and he has not been connected to any NFL coordinator vacancies in the time following head coach Antonio Pierce‘s dismissal. Turner is, however, a candidate to join Bill Belichick‘s North Carolina staff.

It remains to be seen (for the time being, at least) if Glenn will indeed be hired by the Jets. If that does take place, though, it will be interesting to see if the candidates he has been in contact with will wind up following him to New York.

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Bears Hire Ben Johnson As HC

By | at January 20, 2025 11:12 pm

No second interviews are coming for Ben Johnson, after all. The coveted coordinator has made his choice, with ESPN’s Adam Schefter reporting the Bears are expected to reach an agreement with the three-year Lions play-caller. The deal is now official, per a team announcement.

Although Johnson had stepped away as the Panthers’ preferred candidate in 2023 and then informed the Commanders late in last year’s process he was out, the Bears will land the coach who had been viewed by many as this year’s biggest fish. This represents one of the more significant developments in modern Bears history, as they had been connected to the rival coordinator for months.

As of Sunday, the Jaguars and Raiders were still in pursuit. Johnson had spoken to Tom Brady for hours during a Zoom meeting, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reports, but the Las Vegas setup had a notable hole the Chicago gig does not. The Bears used the Bryce Young trade to acquire the 2024 No. 1 overall pick, giving them Caleb Williams access. They have now secured a coach to develop the well-regarded prospect. The Raiders have yet to identify a quarterback, with Brady tasked with helping the organization land one. Las Vegas also dropped to the No. 6 pick thanks to two late-season wins, which may well have been a factor in this now-Brady-led HC search.

The Jaguars’ setup is not in line with what Johnson preferred, Russini adds, helping to eliminate them. Jacksonville made the unexpected move to keep Trent Baalke as GM after firing Doug Pederson. Baalke’s polarizing presence was believed to have turned off some coaching candidates, and it appears Johnson was one of them. The Jags were believed to be open to moving Baalke to a different position in the organization depending on their HC hire, as they prepared an aggressive Johnson push, but that may not have been enough to satisfy a coordinator with options.

The Bears may be zeroing in on a defensive coordinator as well. As Russini reported, both Dennis Allen and Lou Anarumo had engaged in discussions about potentially joining Johnson wherever he landed. Johnson is expected to choose Allen, and Anarumo just committed to be the Colts’ DC. Allen has indeed emerged as a prime candidate to follow Johnson to Chicago, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports. Allen was in charge of the Saints’ defense from 2016-24, before being fired during his third season as head coach. Though, the ex-Sean Payton assistant — Aaron Glenn‘s boss in New Orleans — played the lead role in turning the Saints’ defense around during Drew Brees‘ final seasons.

Baalke’s Jacksonville presence may not be too dissimilar to how Chicago’s power structure looks now. Candidates were curious about what role third-year president Kevin Warren would play. While Warren had said GM Ryan Poles was running what turned out to be an expansive search — featuring nearly 20 confirmed candidates — the team president was believed to be closely involved in football operations. Advertised as an exec who would primarily stay on the business side, Warren has been instead heavily involved in football matters.

This setup still did enough for Johnson, who will work with Poles in attempting to restore the Bears as a power in a strong division. It should also be noted (h/t Fox Sports’ Peter Schrager) Poles and Johnson were each Boston College graduate assistants in the late 2000s. Poles served on the football staff in 2008 after his playing career ended, while Johnson was at BC from 2009-10.

Dan Campbell said earlier today he did not expect either Johnson or Glenn to return. Glenn remains a candidate with several HC-needy teams, but Johnson has loomed as Detroit’s more coveted option. His decision to back out of the Commanders’ job came as reps from the NFC East club were en route to Detroit for interviews with he and Glenn. Rather than hire Glenn, Washington chose Dan Quinn.

The latter’s team just eliminated Johnson’s from the playoffs, freeing the Bears up to make their preferred hire now rather than wait at least another week. Had the Lions held seed and advanced to Super Bowl LIX, the Bears would have needed to wait until after the mid-February event to make their hire.

The Lions’ shortcoming will benefit the Bears, who have not been able to firmly establish themselves as a contender since at least the mid-2000s. And that defense-powered operation only stayed afloat on that level for two seasons. The Bears have not made three straight playoff berths since Mike Ditka‘s tenure more than 30 years ago. The offensive minds the Bears have hired in the recent past (Marc Trestman, Matt Nagy) have not been able to move the needle, Nagy’s two playoff berths notwithstanding. Johnson, however, checks in as a candidate on a higher plane by comparison to those two HCs or really any coach the Bears have hired in recent history.

Although the Lions did not book three straight playoff berths during Johnson’s tenure, they may well be on their way to that. Detroit’s hotshot OC, promoted from a post as tight ends coach after being hired by Matt Patricia, played a central role in the long-downtrodden organization’s climb. The innovative play-caller drove Detroit to two fifth-place offensive rankings and this season’s top mark in terms of scoring. The Lions ranked in the top four in yardage in each of Johnson’s three seasons calling plays.

Johnson, 38, restored Jared Goff as an upper-crust quarterback, doing so after the Lions had acquired the five-year Rams starter as the throw-in piece in the 2021 Matthew Stafford trade. Goff guided Detroit to last year’s AFC championship game and a 15-2 record this season. Johnson was seen as the architect of that resurgence.

Whereas Trestman was given Jay Cutler and Nagy mostly Mitchell Trubisky, Johnson will be tasked with developing Williams. It looks like he chose a Williams partnership over seeing what Brady could come up with in Vegas or working with Trevor Lawrence — and a $55MM-per-year contract — in Jacksonville. Williams ranked 28th in QBR this season, one in which the Bears had Thomas Brown move to three positions — pass-game coordinator, OC and interim HC — during a disjointed campaign marred by a 10-game losing streak. Williams showed a Justin Fields-like penchant for taking sacks, leading the NFL with 68. But the former Heisman winner also showed flashes that attracted candidates; he is signed through at least 2026 on a rookie contract.

This Johnson hire will be the Bears’ aim to maximize their Williams investment, and the team having D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze signed long term undoubtedly helped woo the picky HC candidate. The Raiders and Jags will need to pivot to other options, while the Bears stand to immediately become more interesting in a division in which they finished five games behind the third-place Packers. Johnson will get to work at attempting to reel in his former employer and a Vikings team that just went 14-3.

Via PFR’s HC Search Tracker, here is how the long-running Chicago HC search wrapped up:

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