Report: Tom Brady to have say in Raiders’ choice of head coach originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
After firing former head coach Josh McDaniels following a 3-5 start to the season, the Las Vegas Raiders will look to fill the vacant role in the upcoming offseason, reportedly with the help of Tom Brady.
After his retirement, Brady looked to return to the sport of football in an ownership capacity. Raiders owner Mark Davis welcomed Brady with open arms, offering him a minority stake in the team at an extreme discount. While the deal is still waiting for league approval, Davis is reportedly already entrusting the seven-time Super Bowl champion to help make major decisions within the franchise.
CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones was first to report the news on The NFL Today.
“Sources tell me Mark Davis is expected to rely on team executives and would-be partial owner Tom Brady for advice on who to lead the team,” Jones said. “After a package deal last time, Davis will likely hire a GM first, and then a player-centric head coach after the season.”
The Raiders promoted internally following McDaniels’ departure, appointing linebacker coach Antonio Pierce as interim head coach. In his first game as the leader of the Raiders, Las Vegas beat the New York Giants 30-6, creating a new sense of hope and team pride in the locker room. Pierce, who won a Super Bowl as a player with the Giants, is a lifelong Raider fan and seems to have the players already behind him, with star receiver Devante Adams already citing praise.
After seeing a team reborn under a player-focused coach, Davis wants to find a permanent replacement for McDaniels in the form of a coach who will put his players first. Brady, who played in the NFL for 23 seasons, will have insight no other Raider executives can add, knowing what players look for in a coach.
Davis promised to run a comprehensive search for a new head coach at the conclusion of the season, entrusting Pierce to finish off the 2023-24 season.
The Raiders can begin conducting interviews for a new general manager at the conclusion of the regular season, with coaching interviews of currently employed coaches unable to take place until after the divisional round of the playoffs.
Brady will need 24 other team owners to approve his minority acquisition of the team, as is the case with all majority and minority purchases. If approved, he would become the third former player in NFL history to become a team owner, following in George Halas and Jerry Richardson’s footsteps.